Marry to Money
by Xinlatus
Summary: Sakura's unfortunate day going for an interview lead her to meet the man of her life. "I don't want you to work here. I want you to work for me, personally". AU. Slightly OOC. [sasusaku]
1. Unlucky Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden and the whole world.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Unlucky Day<strong>

**xoxoxox**

Sakura was late for her interview. She ran to the sidewalk, stopped a taxi but someone else got into it. "This is so not happening…!" Sakura gasped. She never thought that this could happen on the day that was considered the most important in her life. She vaguely remembered that morning where she woke up late, forgetting to set her alarm clock the night before and she was mad at her mother for not awakened her. Well, she was deeply sorry and reminding herself to apologize to her mother once she returned.

For now, she had to run towards the bus stop and unfortunately, one of the heels of her newly bought high heels was broken. She almost stumbled. "Damnit!" cursed Sakura. She stopped and instinctively broke the other heel. Now that she wore a _flat_, she wondered why in the first place she bothered to buy high heels. Silently, she thought it was a total waste of money – and will never listen to her best friend, Ino, on her tips about going for an interview.

As Sakura got on the bus, she sighed in relieve and hoped that everything will go on smoothly there after – until she looked at her wrist watch. "What?!" she said it out loud. She blushed seconds after that, from glares she received from the other passengers. She looked down to her lap, embarrassed. "This is so horrible!" Sakura inner-self screamed. She was half an hour late for her scheduled interview -her first ever interview after graduating- at one of the most prestigious business firm in Tokyo – the Uchiha Corps.

The twenty minutes ride felt like a ride to hell, and each stop that the bus made on its way, made Sakura lose her modesty as she could not stopped cursing in her head. Once the bus reached the destination, Sakura dangerously jumped off the bus and she hurried to the building that was at the other side of the road. When she arrived at the entrance of the grand building, she smiled victoriously, despite many people she had knocked on her way there. Then, she looked at her watch, she frowned. She was not sure if she was still allowed to go on but she was not good in not trying till the last.

Sakura entered the rotating glass door and again, she knocked onto a guy. Sakura stumbled on her knees to the floor, with her files scattered on the glossy marble flooring that she could even saw her own pity reflection on it. "Are you okay?" asked the guy as he outstretched his arms to help Sakura. "Sorry… and thank you" she said. He helped Sakura with the files while they were being eyed by the many people wearing flatly ironed tailored attire, with eyes peering with almost no emotions on their face.

Then something felt like a thunder struck her heart. Her breath caught up in her chest, as she saw a smeared of dark liquid on the shining flooring and the opened cup of coffee lying on the floor from where the dark liquid was coming from. "It's okay… I can get another one later" said the guy, chuckling as to not making Sakura felt bad about knocking onto him and dropped his coffee. However, that was totally not the case! Sakura frantically searched for the tissue she kept in her small purse as she looked down to her neatly ironed beige colored blouse that was now having a splatter of unwanted dark brown pattern on it.

"S-sorry…" muttered the guy as he now, too, saw the stain on Sakura's blouse. "It's… It's fine. No worry…" replied Sakura while unconsciously gritting her teeth. But as she remembered the real reason of her being there, despite the entire ordeal she had gone through, her eyes shot open. She gasped as she made her way to the nearest elevator, leaving the startled guy behind, as he no longer a concern but the interview that she was scheduled to attend an hour ago on the eleventh floor. "W-wait!" Sakura yelled at any soul in the elevator as the door shut on her face. She frantically pressed on the button in hopes another elevator will open up in seconds.

**xoxoxox**

Somehow, she managed to get to the eleventh floor and rushed out from the confined box as soon as the door was opened. Sakura ran as fast as her feet could carry her and she finally reached a table where a very mannered looking young lady was waiting. As Sakura was desperately trying to catch her breath and talk at the same time, the lady in front of her gave a look of concerned. "How can I help you, miss?" she politely asked. Sakura was struggling with her own breathe. "I'm… I'm having an interview here…" she spurted it out at last, regardless of the lack of oxygen in her lungs.

"One moment please…" said the lady as she got up from her chair and went to the room behind her. After some moment, she came out again, with a smile on her face. "They're waiting for you, miss… for more than an hour" she said. Sakura thought that smiling was unnecessary as she hoped that the lady dropped the last words she just said. She knew that the interviewer was waiting for her for more than an hour. How could in hell she did not know about it. Sakura tidied up a bit although she knew it would not help much, as she could felt the tangles on her high bun she had tied her hair into. She then followed the lady inside.

"This is the last candidate for today, Miss Haruno" introduced the lady before she left. "Good morning…" muttered Sakura as she entered. Three people were sitting across the room shooting an unfriendly look at Sakura. The pinkette took a seat on the chair in the middle of the room. She tried to sat up as straight as possible while not showing them how tense she actually was. The lady in the middle was chubby, in her middle forty, and had thick-framed glasses. She gave an indifferent look upon Sakura. The guy on her right was an average built man, in his thirty, with hair that was neatly combed to the right side; he looks tired. And the last person was a man, oldest of them all. He looked calm and was a small-sized man.

"Miss Haruno?" said the lady in the middle. Sakura nodded to her. "Haruno Sakura, ma'am" she said. "Do you know what time is it now?" asked the lady. Sakura bit her lip. "Yes, ma'am… its 10am. And I'm late…" said Sakura as she lowered her head slightly. The lady snorted. "We've been waiting for you for more than an hour. Luckily you're one of the chosen, and were scheduled for this interview. So we have to push the time of other candidates forward, just to wait for you" explained the lady. It was bitter to hear. "I'm sorry…" muttered Sakura.

"I see that here, you're applying for an editor position…" the lady said as she flipped through the file. "Thus, time management should be essential to you, Miss Haruno" she continued. Every word she uttered regardless of how calm her tone may be, it still sounded like a thunder in Sakura's ears. Inhaling deeply, Sakura forced herself to look into their eyes, shifting in between them. "I've tried my best" said Sakura, cursing herself afterwards for saying those words, since the interviewer raised an eyebrow. "I see… it's shown by the stain on your blouse, miss" stated the man on the right. Sakura gasped as she knew that the coffee stain was totally visible across her chest down to her stomach area.

"Anything else?" asked the lady to the others in the room. They shook their head. "That's all Miss Haruno. You can leave now. We'll give you a call if you get the job" said the lady, smiling. Sakura was stunned that the interview was rather short and brief and was nothing else other than belittling her. She held the urge to cry. "Thank you" she bowed to them as she left the room. Sakura felt a heavy burden was lifted from her chest but another heavier burden was put on her shoulder. She ran a little towards the elevator, while holding in the urge to cry as she walked pass the lady outside the room.

**xoxoxox**

In the elevator, she cried her eyes out. She sobbed like no one was there to begin with. Few people that were in the same elevator with her were dumbfounded. As the elevator reached the ground floor, Sakura once again rushed out, this time to leave the building. She did not care now if she got the job or not, and was regretting it all since she had gone through hell for coming to the place. She fastened her pace towards the rotating glass door that was the main entrance of the building, located in the middle of the lobby.

Sakura pushed her way through and again, she knocked onto a guy. They both stumbled a little. "Watch where you're going, lady" said the guy in annoyance. Sakura could not contain her discomfort anymore; she cried it out to the guy. "I've had a very terrible day! I was late for my interview and was belittled!" Sakura said in between her terrible sob. But she was not finish yet. Sakura looked at him with misty eyes as tears came running down her cheeks. "And… and… I have stain on my newly bought blouse! And you're yelling at me, you're such a jerk!" she yelled before she ran out of the building.

The guy was stunned and his face turned red from being yelled in public. And when he turned around, as if the time was stopped, everyone at the lobby was literally looking at him, with many expressions on their face. The guy could hear his teeth grinding and his knuckles turned white from the fist he made. However, he made his way to the elevator, still trying to look cool despite all the glares he received. And he could swear that he heard them whispering about him being embarrassed in front of many people. "Damnit!" he cursed under his breath as the image of the pinkette ran through his mind. He practically remembered her without her crying.

The guy reached the highest level in the building and walked towards his office room. A lady, the secretary, got up and bowed slightly to him as he walked pass. "Sasuke-sama, ohaiyou…" she greeted. The Uchiha was rather in a bad mood and did not even look at his secretary but entered his room straightaway. His office was luxurious with a grand taste. Everything was neatly placed and his choice of color shown that he was fond of cleanliness, and to be safe, he chooses dark tone. He sat on his comfy seat and thought of the embarrassment he had just gone through. He never thought that the lady would so bluntly yell at him like that, in front of his own employees.

Then something struck his mind, he called for his secretary. "Rie, come in now" he said. The lady entered. "Yes, Sasuke-sama?" she asked, blush on her cheeks was visible. "Is there an interview going on today?" asked Sasuke. "Yes, on the eleventh floor. What is the matter?" asked Rie. Sasuke looked happy although he did not smile or whatsoever. "Bring me the file with the candidates list. I want to see them now" he ordered. Rie nodded as she went away. Sasuke thought, he could at least know who the pinkette is.

**xoxoxox**

Sakura returned home and went straight upstairs. "How was the interview, Sakura?" asked her mother. Sakura ignored her question, tried to conceal her swollen eyes from crying so hard before, and went straight to her room. A slam was heard moments later. Mebuki looked at her husband. Kizashi shrugged. Worried, Mebuki went after her daughter. She opened the door silently and slightly, only to see Sakura lay on the bed with face on the pillow. Her shoulders trembled lightly and soft sob was heard. Mebuki thought of going inside and talk to Sakura but stop when she saw the blouse that Sakura wore before was on the floor, with stain on it.

Mebuki silently closed the door. "How is she?" asked Kizashi. Mebuki shook her head slightly. "I think she didn't do well. But whenever she comes down, don't try to bring up the topic!" warned Mebuki. Kizashi nodded rapidly. He knew too well that Sakura will eventually speak up to them when she felt more comfortable.

The night went on with Sakura refusing to come down for dinner. She was locking herself in the room after telling her mother that she had no appetite. She was saddened. Even the text messages from her friend, Ino and Sai was left unread. Sakura fell asleep, sobbing into her pillow.

**xoxoxox**

The next morning, Sakura went downstairs, to have breakfast with her parents. Both of them looked at each other before greeting Sakura like yesterday had never happened. "Your usual favorite, choco pancakes" said Mebuki as she served her specialty. Sakura nodded weakly. Her eyes were still swollen and trail of tears were visible across her cheeks. "Eat up. I bet you're hungry, since you skipped dinner last night…" said Kizashi, tried to sound as normal as he could.

Sakura reached for the fork and started to eat. The sweet pancakes suddenly taste bland in her mouth due to her sadness. Tears started to puddle in her eyes again. Her parents looked at her in distraught but they would not dare to say a word about the interview. Suddenly the phone rang. Kizashi got up and went to the ringing phone at their hallway.

"Really? She'll be glad to hear this. Thank you so much!" said Kizashi as he hung up. He walked fast towards the dining room. "Sakura, you got the job!" he said cheerily. Sakura was still staring into space, with her hand kept on feeding the pancakes into her mouth. "Did you hear your father? He said you got the job!" said Mebuki. Sakura nodded. "I know… I won't get it—" she muttered but as her parents' words correctly registered in her brain, her eyes opened widely.

"What?! I got it?!" she asked out loud. "Yes, my dear! You got it!" said Mebuki happily. Sakura jolted from her seat and hugged her mother. "Really?! I can't believe this!" said Sakura as she patted on her face lightly. Kizashi too was thrilled, he joined the big hug.

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><p><strong>AN: Hello there! Hope you like it! I've been planning on this story for quite some time and now, here it is! For those who are concerned enough, be clear that I am not doing ANY sakura bashing! I don't consider this as a bashing, since the storyline headed this way. Just stay put, and it will progress further. Leaving a comment is very much appreciated! Or you can PM me for any personal discomfort you have against me. Happy reading!**


	2. Sweet Revenge

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Sweet Revenge<strong>

**xoxoxox**

"Shannaro!" screamed the inner Sakura as she could not wipe off the wide grin on her face since the moment she woke up. Her bright green eyes sparkled even brighter than the reflection of the morning sun on the mirror. The thought of getting a job at the famous business firm was no longer a dream for her, but Sakura pinched herself on the cheek every now and then to make sure that it was real. Inhaling deeply, Sakura tied her mid-length hair in high ponytail, leaving her bangs being neatly tucked behind her ears.

It was still very early in the morning but Sakura was up and ready and would not want to mess her first day of work. The pale yellow blouse and black pencil skirt she was wearing was neatly ironed by her mother last night as an encouragement for her. To finish her first day of work looks, Sakura grabbed a blazer that matched the color of her skirt. "Nice, Sakura!" she praised herself and was feeling good about it. Still not satisfied, she turned around in front of the mirror for a few times more just to look for any flaw that could destroy her ever perfect morning. Not even a little thread coming out from the stitch was allowed to stay, she get rid of it all.

Then she went downstairs to be greeted by her parents and the smell of breakfast on the table. "Ohaiyou—" she said, happily. "Ohaiyou, Sakura…" replied Mebuki. "Come on, eat up. I'll give you a ride today, since it's your first day" said Kizashi. "To-san… you don't have to…" said Sakura. She knew that her workplace was on the opposite direction from her father's. "It's fine, I insist…" replied Kizashi, sipping on his hot tea. Mebuki nodded in agreement. "So that you won't be late. Besides, this is your first day" she said. "Thank you…" said Sakura. She was all over excited thinking about the day.

**xoxoxox**

"Thanks, to-san…" said Sakura as she went out of the car. "Good luck, Sakura" said Kizashi and drove away. Sakura then looked towards the building that stood proud in front of her, while inhaling deeply in excitement. She made her way, cautiously and proudly, walking as modest as she could towards the entrance. Sakura entered the lobby, now as one of the employees there and was smiling slightly. She made her way to the reception area across the entrance, where a young lady with a very sweet smile was waiting. "Morning, how can I help you, Miss?" she asked as Sakura neared her. "Hi. I'm Haruno Sakura, a new employee here. I came to report duty" answered Sakura, smiling.

"Wait for a moment…" said the lady as she looked into something at the desktop in front of her. "Yes, Miss Haruno. Please go to the top floor to meet the chairman" said the lady again as she politely show the way to the elevator. "Thank you very much" replied Sakura with excitement sounded clear in her tone. She made her way to the elevator. She pressed the button to the highest level of the building, eyed by few others that were with her in the elevator. Sakura could not help it but smile all the way to her ears. Everyone else stopped at many different levels before Sakura and it was her alone on her journey to the top, to meet the chairman of the building. Now, excitement turned to nervousness. Sakura could felt the butterfly in her stomach as she silently stared at the number on the display as it went up. Unconsciously, her grab on her handbag tightened.

**xoxoxox**

'TING'. The elevator stopped at the top level. Sakura inhaled deeply before she managed her steps cautiously out of the elevator while trying hard to keep it modest. She was greeted by an enormous painting of nature right across of the elevator, being placed on the maroon painted wall. Sakura looked at the painting and thought that the price for such beautiful painting was even more than her annual salary of working there for ten years. The top floor was indeed different, with a sense of mystery and the air felt heavy, as Sakura thought that it was just her nervousness that made it difficult to breathe. She then turned to her left and saw a lady at the counter in front of a grand door. Putting a slight smile, Sakura walked over to the lady.

The lady stood and gave a warm smile as Sakura got near. "Ohaiyou, Miss Haruno. I was expecting you…" she said as she bowed slightly to Sakura. The pinkette was fluttered, she returned the bow. "Thank you" she replied. "I'm Rie. Please, follow me" said Rie, as she opened the grand door next to her counter. Sakura followed her inside. It was the chairman's office. Lavishly furnished with large dark oak wood desk in the middle of the room, with dark bulky office chair, a set of couch and a shining glass coffee table right in front of the desk and a number of shelves at each side of the room, each filled neatly with files. _"Gloomy..."_ was Sakura's first thought as she entered the room. "Have a seat, the chairman will arrive soon" said Rie snapping Sakura from her wandering thoughts. Sakura nodded and took a seat on one of the comfy couch as Rie made her way out.

Minutes later, Rie came again. "Please, have some tea while you're waiting…" she said. "Thank you, Rie-san" said Sakura and Rie then once again left her alone in the room. Sakura took the green colored ceramic cup and inhaled the refreshing smell of the tea before she had a sip. _"Nice…"_ she thought as her eyes slowly wandered around the room. She saw the name plate on the desk written 'Uchiha Sasuke', then the framed pictures on the wall and slowly, she looked at it one by one. The three pictures on the left were in black and white and the next three pictures were colored. Sakura silently looked at them and as she reached the second last picture, a thud at the door made her jolted. She turned immediately at the door and a man was there, looking at her.

**xoxoxox**

"You're not late today" he said as he entered. Sakura was unconsciously gaped slightly as her eyes studied the man from his head to toe. He was wearing a dark colored blazer with matching trousers that compliment his dark hair and his long bangs hanged at both side lengthen to his chin, framing his handsome face making him look as if he was straight out of a _manga_. "Y-yes… ah— ohaiyou" greeted Sakura as she immediately bow. The realization of the chairman to actually know that she was late for interview yesterday made her cheeks burned. But that was not the case since she never thought that the chairman could actually be so young, so attractive and actually exist and now was in front of her. She blushed madly.

Sasuke went straight to his seat and sat comfortably as he placed his elbows on the table, with his fingers intertwined. "Have a seat" he said to Sakura. Nodding slightly, Sakura took a seat across of him. Her heart beats madly in her chest and if not because of her ribcage, she swore that her heart could actually burst out. Trying hard to keep calm, Sakura silently sat there as Sasuke flipped through her file. "Haruno Sakura, isn't it?" Sasuke stated as he slightly gazed upon the pinkette. Sakura nodded in response. "I see that you're applying for the editor post. But do you know that time is essential for an editor?" he continued. "Yes…" was all Sakura could say. "However I was informed that you were late for the interview…" said Sasuke but Sakura quickly cut up. "…that will never happen again!" she blurted out. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in wonder.

"I see. Since you sounded eager today, so I guess you won't go home crying like yesterday?" said Sasuke with a slight smile on his face. However, his statement made Sakura's eyes widened in curiosity. "How did you—?" she stared at the man with wide eyes while her mind reeled through her memories of yesterday when she left the building disgracefully, with tears rolling on her cheeks and she knocked onto a guy on her way out. "You-you're…" Sakura gasped as she jolted from her seat. "I'm sorry!" she bowed ninety degree in front of the startled Sasuke. He raised an eyebrow and muttered, "What for?". Sakura could hear her dignity smashed on the floor right at that moment as her mind came clear with the memory of knocking onto Sasuke and yelled at him. "For yelling at you…" she muttered. Sasuke sighed a little and gestured for the lady to sit down again.

"I don't mind it anymore" said Sasuke and that put a little peace in Sakura's heart. Then Sasuke called upon his secretary through the phone. Seconds later, Rie came in. "Yes, Sasuke-sama?" she asked. "Bring Miss Haruno to her department and introduce her to her colleagues" Sasuke instructed. "Yes, Sasuke-sama. Please follow me, Miss Haruno" said Rie. Sakura followed Rie after a slight bow towards Sasuke. They left the room.

**xoxoxox**

At the eleventh floor, the editing department, Sakura was still following Rie. People were busy with their works, with typing sound on the keyboard and the sound of photocopy machine, the sound of shoes clattering on the floor as they walked to and fro their destinations and sounds of people talking on the phone filled the workspace. Not one bothered about the two souls that stood in the midst of a peak work hour. Some that were actually noticing them, turned away as fast as they looked at them. "Attention please, everyone" Rie voiced out. Then as if Rie was chanting a spell, a big silent fell upon them. Not even the sound of photocopy machine could be heard. People literally stopped and stared at them. A guy that was on his way to the other side of the room was right in front of them, still with his walking stance, was also stopped in the middle of his track.

"Thank you. I want to introduce a new member of this department, Miss Haruno Sakura" said Rie. Sakura was feeling anxious as all eyes fell upon her. She bowed slightly, "Nice to meet you all…" she said. Then the people started to greet her casually before they continued with their work again. "Miss Haruno, as the chairman instructed, you'll be starting your work as a clerk, to gain more experience before you take on the editor position. I hope it's okay with you" said Rie. Sakura was slightly taken aback but she waved it off quickly and took it as a challenge. "It's fine with me. And to think that I'm a fresh graduate with no real working experiences, this will be completely acceptable" she said. Hearing that, Rie too, was feeling good. "I'll leave you now. From here, Tenten-san will take care of you. Goodbye, Miss Haruno" said Rie and she left. Sakura bowed slightly to Rie before she turned and looked at the said Miss Tenten.

"Hi there, I'm Tenten" greeted a woman with long braided hair, and her long bang tucked neatly behind her ear. "Nice to meet you, Tenten-san" replied Sakura. "Come, I'll show you your desk. I have been briefed yesterday about you, so I was kinda expecting it" said Tenten as she led their way to the right end of the room. "Your desk, Sakura-san" said Tenten, lightly tapping her nails onto the desk. Sakura put her handbag and files on the desk. "From now on, until some time, I'll be in charge of you. So rest assure, because we'll work together" said Tenten with a smile. Sakura nodded. Her nervousness receded as calmness crept back into her heart. "For now, I'll need you to read this report... and fix any grammar mistakes. The _taichou_ would hate it if he spotted any mistake at all" said Tenten as she handed a document to Sakura. "Okay, I'll try my best" Sakura replied.

**xoxoxox**

Everything went smoothly and Sakura calmly took her time reading on the monthly report for any mistakes. If she found any, she circled them with a pencil. From time to time, she gazed upon her colleagues that were rather busy. She smiled unconsciously at her own good feeling of actually being in the middle of a real working situation. Suddenly, the phone on her right side of the desk rang. "Sakura-san, please come to the chairman's office. Thank you…" said Rie at the end of the line. Sakura informed Tenten about it before she left. She went to the top floor again. _"I wonder what he wants?"_ she thought. It did not take long for her to come and she made her way to Sasuke's office.

Sasuke was at one of the shelves, looking for something, when Sakura came in. "Yes, sir?" she asked. Sasuke turned slightly at her. "Hn, hold on a second" he said then he took a thick file from the shelf and went to the other shelf. He thought again for awhile before he pulled out another thick file. Then with the two thick files in his hands, he went over to his desk, eyed by Sakura. "How's work?" he asked. "Quite okay…" replied Sakura as she could not help it but blushed. Sasuke snorted with a rather skeptical smile. "I bet you still don't have any real work given by Tenten, so I thought I should give you something to do" he said, slamming his palm lightly on the files. Only then, Sakura realized that there were four stacks of files on his desk. "What do you want me to do, sir?" she asked.

Sasuke looked at his watch, and then shifted his gaze again towards the pinkette. "By this hour tomorrow, I want these files to be here in my room, 30 sets each. I'll have a meeting with representatives from other companies by 10am tomorrow" he said. Sakura gasped and her eyebrow knitted together as she eyed the stacks in front of her. "What's with that face?" asked Sasuke, almost smirking at the startled lady. Sakura shook her head without intention. "O-okay… I'll do it" she muttered. "Good then. So, I expect it'll be done tomorrow by 9am. No later than that…" he said. Sakura's gut crunching as she forced a smile and took the files. It was heavy and she had her hands totally full by wrapping her arms around the files, trying hard not to drop them. Less that she knew, Sasuke smirked behind her. Sakura then left the room with Rie gaping at her.

As soon as Sakura arrived at her department, people once again gaped at her. "Are you okay?" asked someone by the door. Sakura nodded although she grimaced at the weight of the files. Tenten was shocked too, as Sakura put the files down on her desk with a loud thud. "What's all this?" asked Tenten. Sakura was panting slightly. "This… the chairman asked me to photocopy them all for his meeting tomorrow morning" said Sakura, still trying to catch her breath. Tenten frowned but she nodded slightly. "Okay, just make it fast then, since it's too many… I thought of helping you with it but I still have reports to prepare" said Tenten. "It's okay… I can do this" said Sakura trying to assure Tenten.

Sakura started to work with the first file as she brought it over to the photocopy machine that was across of her seat. "This was two years ago…" she muttered to herself as she noticed that the file was the sale reports for two years previously. However she shrugged it off and started her work right away. She kept busy and did not realize it, but she had spent two hours standing next to the machine, only to have finished photocopying a third of the pages. Then suddenly, the paper ran out, Sakura was nervous about it but luckily, the office boy helped her with it. He stacked a few paper bundles close to Sakura. "Thank you so much" said Sakura as she resumed her work again.

**xoxoxox**

An hour more had passed, Sakura's stomach started to growl. She looked at the clock on the wall, it was almost noon. _"No wonder…"_ she silently thought as she was sitting on a stool next to the machine. Her colleagues started to leave the office for lunch break. "You're not going out?" asked one of the ladies. "Ah, I'll go out a bit later…" replied Sakura, bitterly holding in her hunger. "Then, we'll go ahead" they said, leaving Sakura. Then Tenten went over to her with the same intention, to bring her out for lunch. Again, Sakura rejected. She knew she would not be able to finish if she went out for lunch. She kept in mind to go out for break awhile later. Unfortunately, the photocopy machine was jammed. As if it was suddenly broken. Nervously, Sakura tried to restart the machine but to no avail.

She had to move to another machine that was quite at the end of the office. Time went by, and Sakura's colleagues started to fill the room once again. "You're still here?" asked the office boy. Sakura too, was startled by his question, wondered why she no longer felt hungry. "Oh no, I was just too focused on this until I totally skipped lunch" said Sakura, chuckling. "By the way, that machine was broken because of me. I'm really sorry" muttered Sakura as she pointed to the other photocopy machine. The office boy was shocked at the statement. "A-ah, nevermind… we'll have it fix soon" he said trying to comfort the troubled lady. Sakura smiled bitterly.

Then, as she continued on her work, Tenten came in with some take-out for Sakura. "Here, I knew you wouldn't go out. Such a newbie you are…" she teased. Sakura was overwhelmed, tears started to puddle in her eyes. "Thank you, Tenten-san…" she said, tried not to cry. It was a croissant and a packed drink. Sakura took a rest for awhile to have her simple lunch. Right after that, she continued her work. Deep inside, she felt like she was being bullied as a newcomer but she sucked it in as it was a challenge she thought she could overcome. It was nothing for her as long as she was there, working in a company that she ever dreamed of.

**xoxoxox**

It was almost four o'clock. People started to finalize their work and tidied up to go home. Sakura, on the other hand was still busy, standing next to the photocopy machine, making sure that the paper did not run out. Now she was surrounded by stacks of paper. Even the office boy was curious. "I wonder why you are photocopying all these. Are you sure of it?" he asked. Sakura nodded weakly while her hands were busy picking up the finish product and refilling the paper into the paper tray. The office boy shook his head. As people started to go home one by one, Sakura could only envy them. "You can continue this tomorrow" said Tenten. "No. I'll be okay, although I have to stay a bit late…" muttered Sakura. "Then, I'll be going now" said Tenten and left. Sakura could only sigh as she looked at the last stack of file that was left untouched.

"I'll help you…" said the office boy as he used another machine to start photocopying the fourth stack. Luckily, there were three photocopy machines in the office since it is an editing department. They both worked silently and the time went by. It was dark outside. "I think I have to go now. A security guard will be at the lobby in case you need any help" said the office boy. Sakura had no choice but to let him go and be alone. She looked up at the wall clock, it was half passed seven. Then her phone rang, snapping her out of her thought. It was her mother. "Ka-san?" she said. "Sakura, where are you?" asked her mother. Sakura almost sighed. "I'm… I'm going home late. Having dinner with my colleagues" she replied. It was a total lie. "Really? Okay then, take care. But don't come home too late" said Mebuki. "Yes, bye ka-san…" said Sakura before she hung up.

Sakura never thought that she have to lie to her mother because of such a matter. And her growling stomach did not help at all as she looked at the convenience store across the street. Sakura thought she could use a short break before resuming her work. She went down to the lobby and it was dimly lit. Her appearance somehow startled the guard. "I don't know that you're still here, Miss. What are you doing?" asked the guard. "I'm sorry, but I have a little work to finish. Just give me some more time. And now, I need to grab a dinner there" said Sakura. The guard nodded. "But I'll close this office by nine, so be fast" he said. "Thank you, sir!" stated Sakura as she quickened her pace outside, towards the convenience store.

There, Sakura grabbed a cup noodle, paid for it and pour hot water in it. She sat by the window and had her simple dinner. After finishing her noodle, she slowly massaged on her shoulder and she even had terrible back, waist and legs pain and her head was pounding. Not to mention that she was sleepy too. "Excuse me, Miss…" someone called out to Sakura. Then she woke up. Sakura felt a little bit woozy from the nap. "Yes?" she muttered as she realized that it was the convenience store's cashier. "You fell asleep here…" he said. Sakura tried to register the situation as she blinked at the guy. Then as adrenaline suddenly pump across her body, she jolted up from her seat and rushed out leaving the startled guy. She ran towards the office and unfortunately, it was closed. It was half passed nine. Sakura was defeated.

**xoxoxox**

"Sakura?" said Mebuki as Sakura made her way upstairs. Sakura gestured to her mother and Mebuki understood her right away that she did not want to be disturbed. Sakura got into her room, with only her purse with her, since her handbag was left in the office and her work still unfinished. She removed her clothes and only in her inner, she slid under the thick blanket, covering her whole body up to her head. She refused to think of what she had gone through as she was physically and mentally drained. Quickly, she drove off to sleep.

It was the next morning. Mebuki and Kizashi were waiting for Sakura to come down for breakfast but she never came. Mebuki went to Sakura's room, only to find her blanket was folded neatly and she was not there. Sakura went early to the office that morning. "Ohaiyou, Sakura-san…" greeted her colleagues. It was five minutes before seven in the morning. "Ohaiyou…" she replied with a smile despite her eyes were heavy and her face shown clearly that she was sleep deprive. It was only some left to be photocopied before she was finished. "You're early!" stated Tenten as she came in. Sakura simply smiled at her as she was focused on her work.

**xoxoxox**

It was almost nine in the morning. Rie got up from her seat and could not help it but gaped when two office boys came with a trolley full of stacks of papers. "What's all these?" she curiously asked. One of the guys turned to her. "The boss needed these for his meeting at ten" he said. Rie was stunned, mostly at the number of papers. "It shouldn't be this much, anyway…" she muttered. But the guy simply shrugged. An hour later, Sasuke came. Rie greeted him as usual and as usual, he entered his room straight away but it did not take long for him to burst out again, startling his secretary.

"Rie! What's all these papers?!" asked Sasuke angrily. Rie blinked at him. "The office boy said you needed them for your meeting at ten, Sasuke-sama" replied Rie. Startled, Sasuke looked at his watch. It was ten minutes passed ten. "What meeting? You didn't tell me anything about it!" he spat. Rie was nervous too, she frantically looked up again in her journal as she usually manage Sasuke's schedule. "The problem is, I too don't know about it… It wasn't in the record" muttered Rie. Angrily, Sasuke went inside his room again. He looked at the papers that were all over the floor. Literally, his room was filled with papers. Then his eyes widened in seconds. "Shit!" he cursed as he finally remembered that he did asked Sakura to do all the photocopying yesterday.

_"Hn. She did it for real huh?"_ he thought. His face muscles twitched as he ground his teeth and his brows were deeply frowned in anger. The pinkette face ran across his mind.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the wait! Quite a long chapter but I hope you like it! Give me any feedback or thought if you have any! Happy reading!**


	3. Date Night

**Disclaimer: I do not own any character, unless some OCs, if present.**

_**'When you fall in love and you don't even realized it... you'll know it when it was taken away from you'**_

**- unknown**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Date Night<strong>

**xoxoxox**

"Ask Sakura to see me, now!" said Sasuke. He sounded angry and the way he put the phone down, it was rough, as if he was channeling his anger towards Rie. The secretary somehow was used to his antics that she no longer felt hurt by his words or his actions. Rie phoned Sakura and she could hear hesitancy in Sakura's voice. However, she did her task and whatever the chairman wanted with the newbie that is totally not her business. Within minutes, Sakura appeared from the elevator. "Just get inside…" muttered Rie. Sakura looked calm despite her heart was racing madly. Many thoughts rushed in her head along her way there. She knocked the door a few times before entering. And a short gasp left her mouth as her eyes scanned all over the floor, it was full of papers. The air around the room suddenly plunged.

"Yes, sir?" asked Sakura nervously. Sasuke was on his seat, facing to the wall, and then he slowly turned towards the door, to where Sakura stood silently. The pinkette unintentionally clasped her hands together, but obviously they were trembling a little. She wondered if she need to move a few steps forward or not, since she felt like their distance were too much but his eyes peered at her, somehow pinning her feet to the ground. She was petrified. "Come closer" Sasuke somehow insisted. So, Sakura stepped forward two times. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, unsatisfied with their distance, he gestured to her to come closer with his left pointing finger. Sakura unconsciously gulped as she stepped forward some more.

Now Sakura was at the middle of the room, just the right distance for Sasuke to see her clearly, and clearly, she was restless. Sasuke stared into her eyes for some moment, maybe looking for her weakness or fear or guilt. Inwardly, Sakura thought he could saw it through her as she was obviously having trouble to even standing upright. That few minutes of silent felt like hours of torture, making it hard for Sakura to even breathe normally as she was not sure if it was right if she just look away or at least said something. "Explain to me all these" said Sasuke, breaking the silent. Sakura briefly glanced around her. "I thought you're going to need these for the meeting?" asked Sakura.

Sasuke exhaled loudly. "I never thought that you really finish it. Maybe I should give you more files to copy" said Sasuke, causing the lady in front of him gaping in wonder. "Wh-what do you mean, sir?" she asked, frowning. "I hate to admit this, but I hired you just because I wanted to take revenge on you. And these, I don't need these at all" said Sasuke with a slight smirk curved on his face. Many thoughts came running through Sakura's mind but the word 'revenge' puzzled her the most. "Revenge on what?" she muttered; mostly to herself as her instinct convinced her that it will never be a pleasant reason for him to take revenge on her. And yeah, she was right. "Because you yelled at me the other day. Childish, I know, but you've scar my dignity in front of my own employees" explained Sasuke with his smile slowly fading.

Sakura's eyes were widened in shock. She was shocked that the guy in front of her was actually toying with her, taking revenge on her about something she regarded as so little. So little compared to all she had gone through on the day when she ended up yelling at him and when she had to stay late yesterday, leaving her handbag in the office and woke up real early just to get the job done. _"And it was all because of him wanting to take revenge on me?!"_ Sakura thought with her unconsciously biting her inner cheeks in anger while staring into the pair of dark eyes in front of her. Sasuke replied her with a cold blank stare. "So, what should I do with all these papers?" asked Sasuke. The pinkette inhaled deeply and slowly. "I'm really sorry" she bowed slightly. Somehow it made Sasuke startled.

"Fine but it's not enough…" said Sasuke. Slowly, Sakura stand straight again and looked at the guy sitting so casually in front of her. "Are you free tonight?" Sasuke continued to ask the innocent looking lady. Sakura was silent for seconds and as her mind managed to capture the real meaning of his question, she gaped. "Yes, why?" asked Sakura with hesitation. Sasuke smirked and that did not convinced Sakura of anything good at all and again, she was right. "Treat me to a dinner, if you're really sorry. And I might consider on forgiving you" he said, smirking all the way, with his pair of cold onyx staring unblinking at Sakura. His heart was racing somehow, realizing the fact that Sakura was studying his face with her shocked emeralds. She looks troubled.

Sasuke purposely letting out a sigh as the lady was standing there frozen in silence. "If you're not so sure—" said Sasuke but he was cut off quickly by Sakura. "I agree! It's fine with me…" she said. "Good then. See you after work" replied Sasuke, smirking. Sakura left the office in mix feelings of troubled, fluttered and sorry at the same time. And terribly, the feelings were heavy on fluttered and troubled. She was fluttered that she got to have a date with her handsome boss yet troubled as this was nothing like a normal date; it was the boss taking revenge on her.

**xoxoxox**

Time flew by so quickly, that Sakura kept on having butterflies in her stomach. She looked at her watch and it was about time for her _date_. "Sakura-san, are you coming with us? We are going to a karaoke nearby" asked Tenten. "No, I'm… waiting for someone. Maybe some other time" said Sakura with a slight smile as she packed her things. Tenten pouted a little with her eyebrows raised, "Okay then… see you!" she said and left the place. Sakura's smile faded slowly and she inhaled deeply, with the sight of her colleagues leaving the office. It was surely not a feeling of relieve in her chest as she rather leave with them to the karaoke. Personally, she believed that it was the right thing to do as a newbie like her, going to a karaoke place, getting to know her colleagues instead of going for a dinner with her boss.

The thought of the dinner date made Sakura eyes shot open. She simply stuffed things into her handbag and rushed to the door. She could not risk it for Sasuke to wait for her. As Sakura was about to leave the office, her desk phone rang. A rush of chill ran down her spine as she took the phone. _"It must be him" _she thought. And she was right. "Yes?" said Sakura. "Meet me at the basement lobby" is all Sasuke said without waiting for any reply from the lady as he hung up. His voice was as clear as thunder in day sky, captivating yet terrorizing Sakura to her core. Sakura sighed and put down the phone and again, she rushed to the door.

As if everything went well, Sakura let out a long sigh until a wild thought struck her mind; she reached into her handbag. She frantically searched for something in her handbag, with few other people looking at her funny. "Oh, come on!" she spat it out. Anger and frustration written clearly on her face, she pressed desperately on the button in the elevator. "Miss, what are you doing?" asked some guy curiously. "S-sorry…" muttered Sakura with her cheeks turning pink. Thus, she had to continue her journey down to the ground floor. As the other people went out of the elevator, Sakura stayed behind and went up to eleventh floor again. She practically remembered her phone that she left inside her drawer. When she reached the eleventh floor again, she ran a little towards her desk and searched for her phone. It did not take her long; she put it in her handbag and went out again.

'TING'. The elevator door opened and Sakura was about to bolt inside when she abruptly slowed down as Sasuke was there too, looking at her. He was somehow startled as he never thought that he would meet her there. Sakura lowered her head as she entered and she settled a bit in front of Sasuke, locking her gaze at the tiny gap of the elevator door. Her back felt tingling as she had this thought of Sasuke looking at her, and it was totally not a pleasant feeling. Silence fell upon them and strangely, the journey down to the basement felt ridiculously longer. Sakura kept on looking at the door impatiently waiting for it to open, so that she could breathe easier. Minutes felt like hour, the elevator eventually stopped at the basement and Sakura stepped out from the confinement, followed by Sasuke.

"Over here" said Sasuke as he led the way. Sakura followed him silently as she eyed all the cars in front of her and made a guess of which one is actually the boss' car. And Sasuke finally stopped in front of a shining black _AMG C63. _Sakura's expectation was shattered to pieces as she thought the guy in front of her would actually drive a different car, maybe a bit sporty or showy. "What's wrong? Get in…" said Sasuke. Sakura was snapped from her own thought, she entered. She could not help it but her eyes wandered around the interior of the car; it was furnished lavishly, somehow fit the guy's aura. "You could have me wait for you outside the lobby, sir" muttered Sakura. Sasuke snorted. "What? Am I some sort of a driver to you?" he said, peering at the lady. _"Bastard!"_ Sakura thought while nodding slightly.

**xoxoxox**

Without wasting time, they leave the place. Sakura peeked on the guy next to her. "It's my treat, so I suppose that I choose the place?" stated Sakura suddenly. "Nope, I choose" replied Sasuke. Sakura kept silent as her mind started to make a calculation of the money she had with her. _"Just don't bring me somewhere expensive"_ she thought. Then another moment of silent, Sakura took out her phone. Sasuke peeked on her as Sakura made a phone call. "Ka-san, I'll be late tonight…" she said, "Going out for dinner with some colleagues." Unconsciously, Sasuke smirked as he focused on the road again. "Yes, I won't be late…" said Sakura before she hung up. "Heh… you lied" commented Sasuke and he earned a glare from Sakura.

"It… It's not like I did it on purpose. It's a white lie…" Sakura said, turning her head away, looking out of the window. "I can't possibly tell her that I'm going out with you, sir…" Sakura added. Sasuke sighed deeply. "Drop the 'sir'. It's annoying" he said, startling Sakura. The lady immediately turned to him again, in wonder. "Sa-suke… sama?" stated Sakura, blushing for no reason. Sasuke did not reply, although with her saying his first name, did make him shuddered.

**xoxoxox**

About half an hour of driving, they reached the destination. It was a large, expensive looking restaurant that Sakura never knew it existed and never will enter on her own. "Welcome, sir, ma'am" greeted an elegant, stoically looking guy as they entered. Sasuke nodded slightly as he made his way inside, followed closely by Sakura. _"He purposely brought me over to this expensive restaurant… I'm finish…"_ thought Sakura silently. They sat somewhere at the back, with many other foreign couples around them. Sakura felt a bit at ease since she wore decently to work that day as she never thought that she would enter such exclusive place for dinner. "Here's your menu, sir, ma'am…" said the waiter, as he gave them each a menu.

Sakura flipped the page and immediately was wide eyes. She almost let out a gasp. One, for the pricey food although it was still in her budget but it was still too much for her day spending. Two, for the menu name, it was in French. Luckily, Japanese explanation was written below each of the name. "A full course meal please, for me" said Sasuke, handing the menu over to the waiter with his eyes looking at Sakura. Somehow she was still hidden behind the menu that she held high over her face. Sakura gulped unconsciously as she was still looking for what is nice and yet still reasonably priced to eat. Both the waiter and Sasuke were now looking at the pinkette, waiting for her response. Frowning, Sakura handed the menu over, "Mm… _mesclun_ please." The waiter nodded slightly and left.

Sasuke looked at Sakura making the lady felt uncomfortable. To ease the weird feeling she had, she purposely threw her gaze away, towards the couples around them. The air around them was awkward and tense compared to other couples that were chatting to each other happily. They kept silent and only exchanged a few short stares. Moments later, their food came. Sakura ate her _mesclun_ salad slowly, and as modest as she could. Meanwhile, Sasuke started with his appetizer. As they ate in silent, none of them realized that a couple was coming their way.

"What a coincidence," said a guy, with a long jet black hair, "…to meet the young master of Uchiha in here. I'm honored". Both Sasuke and Sakura were startled. "Neji-sama…" greeted Sasuke, "Madam…" he greeted Neji's wife. "No need to be so formal," said Neji, then he turned his gaze towards Sakura, "By the way, who's the pretty lady here? Your girlfriend?" he asked. Sakura was stunned. Sasuke looked at the startled lady, he quickly answered, "Yes, she's my girlfriend." "Ehh?!" Sakura's eyes were widened in shock as she frowned at Sasuke, which somehow giving her a calm look. And immediately, Sakura composed herself again, she played along. "I see… nice to meet you, Miss" said Neji and his wife nodded to Sakura. The pinkette smiled to them. "Nice to meet you too" she replied.

"I'll get going, see you next time Sasuke. Send my regard to Fugaku-san" said Neji. Sasuke bowed slightly to them, followed instinctively by Sakura. As Neji and his wife were gone from their sight, secretly, both Sasuke and Sakura inhaled in relieve. They did not say it but as they exchanged gaze, they somehow relay the feeling to each other. Sasuke got back to his food again while Sakura had completely lost her appetite. She stared at the guy. "Good job, Sasuke-sama…" she stated, almost angrily, "…for getting me into trouble like this." Sasuke tilted his head a little, looking at Sakura. "What trouble?" he asked, slightly annoyed in his tone. Sakura crossed her arms. "I'm your girlfriend? Can't you just tell them the truth just now?" she stated. Sasuke took some moment observing the pinkette. "What's wrong with that? Every woman dreamed to be my girlfriend" he smirked.

Sakura rolled her eyes in disbelief. Then suddenly her phone rang. "I need to take this, excuse me" she said as she got up and made her way to the washroom. Sasuke simply eyed her. Moments later, she returned and Sasuke had finished with his food. "I'll skip dessert" he said to the waiter. Sakura did not even finish her salad. Then, as Sakura was about to pay, Sasuke already gave the waiter his card. "I thought it's my treat?" she asked curiously. Sasuke replied her with a cold stare. "It's my win. Besides, I can't let you pay for me at a place like this" he said, blatantly. Sakura snorted. She could felt his ego and it is too big, she suffocated. _"Damn you rich guy!"_ she thought.

Then they left the restaurant. Sakura followed Sasuke closely to the sidewalk, until the guy stopped and turned towards her. "Want me to flag a taxi?" he asked. Sakura was utterly shocked. Not that Sakura wanted him to drive her home but she never expecting that he was this heartless… not to mention, cold. _"He could have asked me differently though"_ she thought as she bit her inner cheeks in annoyance. "N-no… someone will pick me up…" replied Sakura. And right at that moment, a big bike stopped by the sidewalk. Sakura pointed to it. "There, I'll get going now. Thank you for the dinner" she said, as she bowed slightly and left. Sasuke eyed the lady and looked at the guy with the big bike, wearing a black leather jacket with a matching helmet. He could not see the guy's face but he had an instinct that it was Sakura's boyfriend.

**xoxoxox**

The next morning, Sakura was about to go to the entrance when a car stopped in front of the lobby and out came Sasuke. He passed the car key to the valet. Sakura looked at him as he walked pass her, with no greeting nor a smile, as if Sakura was not there to begin with. The lady just stood there, feeling as if she just got dumped. _"Damn bastard"_ she thought silently.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update. I sincerely apologize. I was on a short holiday, so I literally left all behind. So, I managed to put this chapter up and hope you like it. Just wanna give some hint, this will be a beginning of something new. Happy reading!**

**- Sasuke's car, AMG C63. Look it up.**

**- ****Mesclun salad does exist! Google it up!**


	4. Steal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. Only the plot in this story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Steal<strong>

**xoxoxox**

The phone vibrated on the desk with its screen light glowing thrice demanding for Sasuke's attention. His fingers stopped typing on the keyboard and his eyes trailed to the phone. The small disturbance managed to catch his attention somehow as he picked it up. Silently, he read the text message that made his eyebrows rose slightly. As if it was not so important, Sasuke put the phone back down and continued his work. And then it was time for him to go home, he gazed at the wall clock across of his seat. Sasuke tidied up his desk, turning off his desktop and putting some files in stack, neatly. Then he put on his coat and left the office. Sasuke looked calm although his mind kept on thinking of the text message he received earlier. He smiled slightly at the thought.

As the elevator reached the ground floor, Sasuke walked out, while being eyed by his employees at the lobby, with them bowing their heads towards him in respect. A feeling of pride filled his chest. He somehow looks so calm and walked pass them with almost zero emotion, making him appear more arrogant rather than cool. He went out of the lobby through the main rotating glass door, as his car was outside, with the valet standing next to it. Sasuke went over to his car, took the key from the valet and drove away.

**xoxoxox**

Later that night, Sasuke was at a karaoke place, somewhere in the city with his close friends, Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji and Shino. It was Chouji's turn to sing and he sang terribly as he was slightly intoxicated after drinking three glasses of sake. The others simply cheered him on, although he sounded like a madman going on rampage rather than singing. Sasuke did not joined them in singing but he was there only to kill time and having some booze. "Hey, teme… why don't you sing after this?" asked Naruto, well, for the tenth times. Sasuke knew the blondie was not really in his correct mind, "Nope, idiot. And for the next time you gonna ask, still no" answered Sasuke. Naruto looked at him frowning, as his head was pounding from the sake he drank.

Then Naruto got up, being eyed by Sasuke. "Where are you going?" asked Sasuke, looking at his unsteady friend. "Toilet…" muttered Naruto as he left the room. He went out and closed the door behind him, completely muting Chouji's wail. As Naruto walked towards the toilet that was located at the other end of the hallway, he had to walk pass the other karaoke rooms. After he finished, he left and as he stepped out of the men's washroom, he was stunned at what he saw. A lady was walking _towards_ him with the prettiest eyes he had ever seen. Naruto's eyes immediately widened in astonishment, and his jaw dropped making him gaping slightly while his eyes followed the lady's movement. And she walked pass him –unnoticing him- as she entered the ladies' washroom. Naruto's heart was racing at the sight of the pretty lady although he knew that the lady was actually going to the washroom.

**xoxoxox**

The room was filled with cheers and laughter of slightly drunk Kiba as Chouji finished his awfully sang love song. Except Shikamaru, as he was too lazy to even clap his hands and Sasuke, as it was his nature of being quiet and Shino as usual, the master of being invisible. Then Naruto entered the room again, with his right hand grabbed tightly on his shirt at his chest, worrying Sasuke. "What's wrong with you?" asked Sasuke as Naruto sat next to him. The blondie was wide eyes and he looked surprise while breathing heavily. Sasuke frowned at him. "I can't breathe…" muttered Naruto as he now shifted his gaze towards Sasuke. "What?!" stated Sasuke, putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder. As he was about to alarm the others, Naruto grabbed on his sleeve, "She… she just stole my heart…" he said, almost whispering. The Uchiha frowned deeply at his friend's statement and he tried to decipher his words. "How am I supposed to breathe if she just stole… my heart?" continued Naruto, turning his gaze into space, as if he was imagining things.

Sasuke clenched his teeth in annoyance as he then figured the real meaning of Naruto's so-called _suffering_. "_Baka_. It was just a woman, isn't it?" stated Sasuke, turning away slightly as he almost thought that Naruto really had trouble breathing. "Not just a woman, she's a goddess" replied Naruto. Sasuke ignored him and drank up his sake. "…hair flows like the seed of dandelion, being blown away in the air by the wind… as pink as her tiny lips…" Naruto continued to talk as Sasuke peeked slightly at him. "…her eyes, yes, her eyes are the prettiest thing I've ever seen. Glimmering under the light… brilliant green against the dark light…" said Naruto. Sasuke almost spew out his drink, he turned to the blondie. "What?" he muttered. A flash of his pink-haired employee went across his mind. _"It can't be Sakura"_ Sasuke thought. Unconsciously, he shook his head slightly in disbelief. "I wonder if I will ever see her again…" Naruto pouted a little, inhaling deeply before letting out a long sigh.

Sasuke smirked at his friend. "What if she has a boyfriend?" he asked. Naruto scowled a bit while he was thinking of the possibility, before he grin widely seconds later. "Nahh… a boyfriend is nothing. Naruto-sama here will melt any woman's heart!" he said to himself, proudly, ending it with a chuckle. Sasuke stared at him for some moment before he tore away.

**xoxoxox**

Sakura threw the wet tissue into the bin, as she stared into the mirror, widening her eyes. She looked intensely at her own reflection, specifically her tired-looking emerald eyes, as she realized that they were bloodshot. Letting out a sigh, she took her phone and made a call. After the short call, Sakura turned around to leave, when a colleague entered. "Midori-san" stated Sakura to the lady. "Ah, Sakura-san… I'm going home after this. My brother will fetch me up" said Midori. Sakura nodded to her as she too, was thinking of leaving soon. "Me too, Midori-san. But I'm still waiting for someone to fetch me…" replied Sakura as she eyed Midori putting on some lip gloss to her naturally pink lips. "So, I guess I'm going back to the others" said Sakura as she left the washroom, with Midori nodding to her slightly.

It was almost midnight. Just an hour after Shikamaru left, with an excuse that Temari was scolding him to go home, Sasuke excused himself by telling his friends that he had a meeting tomorrow morning, and yet he was true. He left the room with deep sigh as he closed the door behind him, leaving the noise filled room, as Kiba was singing to his heart content. Sasuke made his way out of the place and as he stepped outside of the building, something caught his attention. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed slightly without intention as his steps too, slowed down, while his gaze locked onto a guy leaning on a big bike by the roadside. Sasuke remembered the bike from somewhere and now he could saw the guy's face clearly, as the guy removed his helmet. The guy was clearly waiting for someone. _"Sakura's boyfriend"_ Sasuke thought. _"So, Sakura is really here…"_ he could not help it but to believe that the lady in Naruto's description was really his pink-haired employee.

**.**

**_The next day_**

**.**

Sasuke walked towards his office after a meeting that morning, with Rie bowing slightly to him. "Sasuke-sama… Naruto-sama is waiting for you" said the secretary. Sasuke nodded to her before he entered his office. "Hey, Sasuke!" greeted Naruto with his usual cheery tone. "Hn. I guess you're just slacking off again?" mentioned Sasuke as he peeked on the blondie, while walking over to his seat. Naruto snorted a little at the comment as he went to sit in front of Sasuke. "Of course not. I wouldn't be here without my father's permission" said Naruto, crossing his arms. "Whatever you say, Naruto. But what brings you here?" asked Sasuke in return. "The lady last night…" said Naruto with his grin grew wider and he seems excited, "…she's one of your employee, do you know that?". Sasuke was stunned at the blondie's statement, his eyebrows rose slightly. "How do you know?" he asked, although he knew that Naruto was right.

"Hahaha…" Naruto put on his happy face as he leaned back on his seat, still crossing his arms. "Luck is on my side, Sasuke! Last night, when I was about to leave, I met one of your staff… umm… I don't remember his name" stated Naruto while Sasuke frowned at him, indicating his uncertainty and right away, Naruto brushed it off. "Thus, I asked him about the lady and yeah… she's one of your staff here! How lucky I am, huh!" he said, elatedly. "Sakura huh?" muttered Sasuke but loud enough to make Naruto jumped off his seat. "Yeah, Sakura… that's her name!" stated Naruto in joy. "Hmph…" Sasuke smirked and rolled his eyes. "What's with that face?!" asked Naruto in annoyance, slamming his hands on the desk, earning a skeptical look from Sasuke.

"You won't have a chance…" said Sasuke, still smirking to his friend. Naruto frowned at him deeply. "Why do you say so?" asked the blondie in curiosity. "She's taken" said Sasuke. And silent quickly fell upon them as Naruto stared blankly at Sasuke with his pupils dilated in shocked, in doubt; as if he could see something behind Sasuke or through Sasuke. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed seeing that Naruto was dazed, so he cleared his throat purposely and said, "She has a boyfriend". Naruto snapped back to reality, he grinned. "Like I've said, a boyfriend means nothing. I don't give a damn!" said Naruto in confidence. Sasuke smirked at his friend's antics.

**xoxoxox**

"What should I wear for our anniversary dinner?" asked Ino, pouting a bit as she clung onto Sai's arm. The pale skin guy smiled at his girlfriend. "Anything will suit you best" he said, smiling brightly. Ino blushed and giggled a little as she always knew that Sai will speak of things that are honey to her ears. Then her eyes wandered around, she saw something that caught her attention. It was a purple colored knee-length dress, with some silver embroidery at the neckline. Ino let go off Sai's hand and rushed towards the dress, that made Sai gaped in surprise. He smiled at his girlfriend. "What do you think of this one?" she asked excitedly. Sai could saw sparkles in her eyes and that will always be the reason he falls in love with her. "I'm sure it will look good on you, Ino. Anything you want…" he said. "Sai-kun… I'm gonna try it on!" said Ino as she took the dress and head over to the fitting room, with Sai smiling and nodding to her.

The guy just waited somewhere outside, at the ladies department as any good boyfriend will do. "Sweet talker, so that's how you fool the ladies, huh" said a voice coming from Sai's back. "You think they're just toys isn't it? They melt because of your sweet words…" said the voice again and now it was beside him. Sai turned to the voice and saw a guy standing next to him, looking at him with a cold stare. Instinctively, Sai looked around and realized that there was no one else except him. "Pardon me?" asked Sai as he shot a curious stare at the guy, while observing him. _"Who's this guy anyway?"_ he thought. Sai was pretty sure that he never knew the guy before. "Don't think that you can fool all those ladies with your foul talking for long…" mentioned the guy before he left, leaving Sai wondering who he was and what was he talking about.

"Sai-kun… what do you think?" asked Ino as she came out from the fitting room, showing-off her dress. Sai turned to look at her, although he was still a bit confused by the guy, he put on his usual wide smile. "Ino, you look gorgeous…" he commented.

**xoxoxox**

The day went on and Sasuke was on his way to the lobby, until he saw a certain guy with a big bike at the sidewalk, obviously was waiting for someone. Sasuke took his time walking down the stairs while eyeing the guy and being eyed back. Except that the guy was looking at Sasuke in curiosity, if not, surprise. "Sai, sorry… am I late?" said a voice, coming from Sasuke's back. It was Sakura's voice. Sasuke stopped at his place, turned slightly, as Sakura walked pass him. At that split second, Sasuke suddenly grabbed on Sakura's hand and pulled her away. "Ahh… w-what?" the lady gasped as she was almost stumble on her feet, while being dragged away in force to somewhere. Sakura was wide eyes, with her mouth gaped a little, as she looked at her 'kidnapper'. "Wa-wait! Sasuke-sama?" she frantically tried to release herself from his grip, while at the same time looking at Sai. Seeing the act in front of him, Sai was utterly shocked. "Hey, stop it!" he yelled but fell on deaf ears, since Sasuke kept on pulling Sakura with him, towards his car.

Even the valet was terrified at what he saw but in no power to do anything, he gave the car key to Sasuke with trembling hand. Sasuke, without wasting any time, forced Sakura to enter the car and, being panicked, Sakura followed his order. Then Sasuke too, entered the car and drove away, leaving Sai feeling pathetic. Sakura turned her head to look at the stunned Sai through the back windscreen, before she shifted towards her boss. "What's going on?! He's waiting for me just now!" yelled Sakura, mostly in anxiety rather than anger. "Buckle up" Sasuke simply said, totally brushing off the lady's worries. Sakura bit her bottom lip in annoyance as she pulled the seatbelt and buckled up. "Sasuke! Stop the car this instance!" she said, with her voice raised and purposely removing the 'sama' suffix as to show her determination. Somehow, Sasuke did not flinch at all.

Rage fired up inside of Sakura's heart, she could felt her blood boiled as her whole body suddenly feeling warm, while she watched the guy next to her that was so calm, so compose. "What's all this?!" she yelled again. "You'll thank me later" said Sasuke. "What?!" asked Sakura in total disbelief. She could not imagine herself thanking him for such an act, besides having Sai being left behind, not knowing what exactly had happened. But neither was she. Sakura was breathing hard and again, she turned to look at Sai and as she expected, the guy was tailing them. Sasuke too, somehow knew about this by looking at the rear view mirror, he accelerated. "Stop the car!" yelled Sakura as she now unconsciously hitting Sasuke's left arm in response to her nervousness, maybe because of the speed or because of her worry for Sai.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and gripped harder at the steering as to endure the lady's hits and yells. "That guy… he's not like what you think he is!" replied Sasuke with anger in his tone as he glared at Sakura. The brief moment of them being eyes to eyes, sent chill down Sakura's spine, that she stopped hitting him. "What are you saying?" she muttered with cracked voice and eyebrows furrowed deeply. Sasuke was now focusing on the road again, also frowning deeply and looked completely annoyed. Sai sped up and overtook the car. "Shit!" cursed Sasuke under his breath suddenly, and Sakura immediately turned her attention to the road, while she secured herself onto her seat as Sasuke stepped on the brake forcefully. "Stoppp!" screamed Sakura and she shut her eyes as Sai was stopping right in front of them, in the middle of the highway. A few cars were honking at them.

With no other choice, Sasuke immediately resort to the emergency lane and stopped his car. Sakura was breathing heavily and she could felt her heart beating in her mouth from the sudden turn of events. Sasuke too, was nervous; he touched Sakura's hand and immediately being shoved away by the pinkette. "Are you… alright?" he asked with mix feeling of guilt, scare and relieve lingered in him. Sakura turned to him furiously and screamed, "You jerk! Unlock the door!". Sasuke unlocked the door and instantly Sakura opened it and got out of the car. "Are you okay?" asked Sakura anxiously as Sai too, removed his helmet and walked towards Sakura. They hugged each other. Sakura muffled herself onto Sai's chest as the guy held the trembling lady in his arms. Sasuke too, came out of the car, he watched silently.

"Do you want to die?" asked Sasuke annoyingly. Sai angrily looked at Sasuke and he immediately recognized him from the day at the mall. "You! You pulled the stunt first! What are you trying to do?!" he asked with mix feelings of scare and confuse. Sasuke, still frowning, walked closer towards them. "I was trying to save you…" he said to Sakura. The lady pulled herself together again, although she was still trembling a little. She wiped off her tears and turned to Sasuke. Now she stood in between the guys, she gave Sasuke a furious glare. "Explain to me!" she nudged angrily at Sasuke's chest. "I'm just trying to protect you" he said in deep clear voice. Sakura snorted. "But I almost die in there!" she said, pointing at the car. "And you almost kill Sai!" she continued, now pointing at Sai.

Sasuke kept silent as he frowned at her. Sakura's lips trembled holding back her tears. "You don't know what I'm trying to do. That guy is not what you think he is" said Sasuke, peeking on Sai slightly. "What are you talking about?" asked Sakura as nothing that Sasuke said make sense to her right now. Sasuke held both of Sakura's shoulder and looked deeply into her making the lady wavered for a moment. "Sakura, listen to me. That guy is a bast—" and Sasuke was stopped abruptly as Sakura raised her hand and slapped his face impulsively as a response to his statement. Sakura gasped at what she just did, putting her fingers over her lips. Her palm was stinging in pain indicating of how hard she actually slapped her own boss that his left cheek was now turning pinkish.

Slowly, Sasuke turned to her again, glaring at her. And that made Sakura's heart skipped a beat. "Fine" said Sasuke and left. Sakura was still gaping, eyeing Sasuke as he walked over to his car. The engine roared and tires screeching as the car drove away. All the things that had just happened made Sakura felt bad, confuse and scared. Unconsciously, tears rolled down her cheeks. Sai put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, making her shuddered, wiping off all her thought of the events. "Are you okay?" he asked.

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><p><strong>AN: With Naruto manga now officially ended, I also want to convey my thousands of thanks to Kishimoto-sensei for his masterpiece. This manga means a lot to me, I've grown up with it for 13 years (been a fan since 2001). But I will never let it die here, since more projects related to this manga is coming! Etc: the new era project. I'm looking forward to it in full force! And, since most of my OTPs were now CANON, I can sit back and enjoy my tea (jokes!). Hooray to sasusaku, naruhina, saino!**

**Anyway, this new chapter is now up, so happy reading! **


	5. Across the Road

**Disclaimer: I don't own narutoverse. Only the plot.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Across the Road<strong>

**XOXOXOX**

Sasuke pulled off in front of a suburban house, parking his car at the sidewalk. Coming out of the car, with a striped colorful paper bag in his hand, Sasuke walked over to the main door. A wooden nameplate was hanged at the door with 'Uchiha' carved on it. He pressed the doorbell and waited calmly. Just a short moment later, the door was opened. A lady with shoulder-length dark brown hair stood at the door, smiling at him. "Ah, Sasuke-kun? Come in…" she said. Sasuke drew a slight smile on his lips. "Thank you, Yuki nee-san" he said as he went inside. "I'll tell Itachi-kun that you're here. Ah— there he is…" said Yuki, pointing to the stairs. A guy went down the stairs, eyeing Sasuke on his way. A young boy was cuddling to him in his arms. "Sasuke…" he stated. "Nii-san, hi…" greeted Sasuke while removing his shoes. "I'm going to prepare some tea. So you guys can go to the living room and chat" said Yuki as she went to the kitchen. Itachi then led Sasuke to the living room.

"Have a seat, Sasuke" said Itachi while he himself was still standing, cooing his son. Sasuke put the paper bag that he brought on the coffee table. "Here, a present for Satoshi" he said, smiling at the little boy. Itachi looked upon his younger brother and then he waved Satoshi's little arm slightly in the air towards Sasuke. "Bad uncle… you didn't come for my first birthday last night… I'm mad…" said Itachi; baby-talking, pretending that it was Satoshi talking to Sasuke. It did make Sasuke smirked in amusement at his brother's fatherly behavior. Even the little boy giggled. "So, why didn't you come? I bet you've forgotten it…" said Itachi, now sitting on the couch across of Sasuke. "I'm sorry. I didn't forget about it" said Sasuke, ending in a low sigh. "I bought this gift yesterday at the mall and thought of coming here afterwards, but—" he stopped as an image of a certain pink-haired lady came across his mind, yelling and slapping him. "…something came up. So I can't make it" he continued. Itachi's eyebrows rose at the explanation, giving a doubtful look at Sasuke.

"It's true…" muttered Sasuke. He knew it sounded more like an awful excuse rather than an explanation. Sighing a little, Itachi nodded. "If you say so… but I'm glad that you don't actually forgotten it…" said Itachi, smiling slightly. Then Yuki came with some drinks and rice crackers, somewhat lifting up the dull atmosphere.

**XOXOXOX**

Meanwhile, somewhere along the sidewalk in the city, Sakura and Ino went out together for their girls' day out. "It's been awhile since we last went out together" said Sakura. "Yeah! We've all been busy with our works. I just hope we can go out like this more often" stated Ino cheerily. "No problem! Anytime you wanna go out for some drinks, I'm in" replied Sakura. Ino nodded to her, with her smile kept intact the whole time, since Sakura met her earlier that day. She could sense the happiness radiating from Ino. "So, how was the anniversary dinner last night?" asked Sakura. And it made Ino elated even more, she almost squeal right there, right at the moment, in the sea of people. "Sakura! I'm itching to tell you about it and was waiting for you to ask me!" said Ino excitedly as she tugged Sakura's wrist. "I felt like a princess last night! You wouldn't believe it! Let's talk inside" said Ino, bringing Sakura somewhere. And they entered a small coffee shop.

As they settled somewhere in the café, they ordered a drink. And Ino could not hold her feelings any longer, with her grin grew wider, she leaned closer over the table towards Sakura. The pink-haired lady was now frowning with a forced smile on her face. "So, what happened?" asked Sakura to her friend. "He brought me over to one of the famous Italian restaurant; I guess you know it…" Ino started out. "…then we were at the top floor, with the view of the city. It was amazing! I mean, the night view was amazing!" said Ino, squealed a little. "And the weather was fine too…" added Sakura in between. Ino nodded excitedly. "Yeah, and… and… guess what? He booked the entire outdoor seats for the night! Can you believe it?! It's like, we actually own the place!" stated Ino and she literally squealed this time. And even Sakura was now sharing the same level of excitement as she was. "No way! He's so sweet!" stated Sakura, wide eyes.

"Yes way, Sakura!" said Ino and every eyes in the café were now looking at the two best friends. "There's even a group of musician came and played for us while we're having the candlelight dinner…" Ino then exhaled in happiness as she relived the memories in her head. "So romantic!" commented Sakura. "You bet it! And most importantly, after the dinner…" said Ino. Then she shut her eyes while smiling brightly, she raised her left hand, showing a four carat of shining gold diamond ring. Sakura was gaping in delight. "Oh my God, Ino! He proposed to you?!" she said and they both squealed excitedly. Ino simply nodded as she had no better way to express her feelings, and it was clearly written on her face. "I'm truly happy for you. You're so lucky, Ino" said Sakura as she too, shared Ino's joy.

Ino smiled happily. "Thank you, Sakura. You're another person that had known about this, after my parents" she said. "You're welcome, Ino. I've never thought that it'll be this long. Well, we've been together since high school" said Sakura that made Ino thinking. "Umm… yeah. I never thought that Sai has a crush on me last time" said Ino with a chuckle, "Since we're best friends, you know… like best friends forever…" she added. Sakura nodded in agreement, "Yes, and we always thought that Sai was geeky, with his sketch book around…" commented Sakura as they both resorted to a laugh. "I envy you… I've never had a boyfriend before" muttered Sakura, sighing a little. Ino pouted. "What are you saying? You now have plenty of choices at the office" stated Ino and that somehow made Sakura frowned. "You can find among your colleagues… or maybe, your boss" Ino continued, with her cheeky smile. Somehow the word 'boss' made Sakura shuddered as it reminded her of Sasuke.

"Ah, talking about your work…" Ino put a finger on her chin as if she was thinking of something. "…Sai told me something about you being kidnapped by a guy! Who was it?" asked Ino, frowning, with eyes full of worry. Sakura grimaced and sighed deeply. "He's my boss…" she muttered. "Ehhh?" Ino gave her a questioning look.

**XOXOXOX**

"You're late!" scowled Naruto. Kiba smiled as he paced up towards Sasuke and Naruto that were waiting for him. "_Gomen_… I was stuck in a traffic jam" said Kiba, scratching behind his head. "Whatever… So, where's Shikamaru and Chouji?" asked Naruto. "Shikamaru can't join us today. And Chouji will come a bit later, he has things to do" explained Kiba. Both Naruto and Sasuke nodded. Then they entered the karaoke place. As they turned at the corner of the hallway, a door that was right in front of them suddenly opened. Sasuke was shocked as the guy that was at the door, was somewhat familiar. It was the bike guy. And the guy too, was shocked to see him. They both stopped and stared at each other. Realizing the awkward situation, Naruto looked at the guy too. "What's wrong teme? Do you know him?" he asked. Then to the blondie's surprise, he saw _something_ more interesting, that he unconsciously walked into the room.

"Hey, Naruto!" Sasuke called out to Naruto and instinctively followed him. Sakura was sitting inside of the karaoke room, when Naruto entered and was smiling at her. Sasuke hesitated at first in following the blondie and now he regretted it when he saw Sakura. The pinkette was speechless and even more surprised when her boss entered the room. "Sas-Sasuke-sama?" she muttered. "Ah, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke's friend" greeted Naruto somehow, taking his place next to Sakura. Sai was still at the door, gaping at the guys. Then, Kiba too, entered the room. "I'm Kiba… Nice to meet you" he smiled slightly, and then took a seat next to Naruto. "Why are you here?" asked Sakura and the question was intentionally for Sasuke. "Sorry, but can we join you guys here? Since you're Sasuke's colleague, right?" asked Naruto as his eyes shifted between Sai and Sakura.

Sakura looked at Sai. The pale guy simply shrugged. "I guess… it's fine" replied Sakura, sighing. Naruto was relieved. "Thank you! The more people, the more fun we'll have!" he said. Sakura simply nodded to him, "Y-you're right…" she replied. "Great then!" stated Naruto, excitedly. Sasuke stayed silent as he could not believe that he was there to begin with. "Umm… Sakura, I'm going to get the drinks now. Will you be okay?" asked Sai, worryingly. "I'll be fine" replied Sakura, giving him a slight smile. Then Sai went away, with Naruto silently peeked on him. Naruto wondered if Sai is Sakura's boyfriend as told by Sasuke. Sakura felt awkward at the situation, she smiled at the blondie. "So, I guess I'm starting…" said Kiba, breaking the silent as he browsed through the songs book.

"So, Sakura-chan… which department are you at?" asked Naruto, trying to make a conversation. "Editing department…" replied Sakura simply, although she grimaced inwardly at him for the 'chan' suffix. "I see…" Naruto nodded as he kept in mind to ask Sasuke later about it. Then they kept silent for awhile when Kiba started singing. They were all feeling tensed, especially Sasuke. And he was trying so hard to not make any eye contact with Sakura. The sight of Sakura somehow fumed the discomfort in his chest. While Sakura too, unconsciously, glancing at Sasuke every now and then. She had the urge to ask him regarding his action the day before. "Sakura-chan… you're so pretty" complimented Naruto, out of the blue. It made Sasuke's eyes widened and he turned his gaze towards them. Sakura too, blinking at Naruto in surprise. "I'm being honest, you know… so, I guess a pretty lady like you must have a boyfriend?" he asked purposely.

Sakura let out a short chuckle at the blondie's blunt question. It made her heart filled with discomfort. "Hm… No, I don't have a boyfriend" replied Sakura eventually. Naruto thought for awhile as he remembered about what Sasuke was saying but this is Sakura herself admitting; so he was feeling glad. "Wow, really?! So, I still have a chance, isn't it?" he said while throwing his usual shining grin. Sasuke snorted at Sakura's answer. He suddenly remembered that Sakura used to lie to her mother about the dinner date. So, he had the idea that Sakura was actually lying to Naruto about it. Then, Sai returned, with some drinks on a tray. Sai could not help it but kept on exchanging gazes with Sasuke as soon as he entered. Somehow, he kept calm. "So, Ino is still not coming yet?" asked Sai. Sakura shook her head.

Meanwhile, Kiba was still at it, the others were just sitting back and relax. Only that Naruto kept on chatting with Sakura. Suddenly, the door was opened and a lady with light blonde hair came in. "Ino…" stated Sakura in joy. Ino was somehow shocked at the other people that she did not know. She took a seat next to Sai and immediately, she clung to the guy's arm. "Sai-kun… sorry I'm late. Everyone, sorry…" she said, sweetly. However, Sasuke frowned at Ino and Sai; he gave a quick glance at Sakura. Unfortunately, Sakura was not noticing his gaze. "Who are these guys?" asked Ino. Sakura sighed a little but she knew she had to introduce them anyway. "This is Naruto, Kiba… and at the end there is my boss, Sasuke" said Sakura. "Hi…" greeted Naruto. Ino then gasped at the sight of Sasuke. Not only because of his handsome face but the fact that he is Sakura's boss, that is. "Ehhh?" Ino gaped, shifting her gaze in between Sasuke and Sakura. She practically remembered that Sakura's so-called 'kidnapper' was her boss.

**XOXOXOX**

The situation and the new founded realization made Sasuke felt discomfort. He excused himself and left the room. "Hey, Naruto… how about Chouji? Have you told him about this room?" asked Kiba, suddenly. "Ah, yeah… I have" answered Naruto and Kiba nodded at him. "Sakura-chan, another one of our friend will be joining us too. Is it okay?" asked Naruto as he turned to the pinkette again. Nodding slightly, Sakura replied, "Yeah, fine. No problem, right guys?". She purposely asked Sai and Ino. The couple simply nodded at her. Inwardly, Sakura felt that their space was intruded by Sasuke's friends. Then suddenly, Sakura's phone rang. It was a text message. Silently she read it and her eyes widened before she sighed deeply.

"I need to go out for awhile" said Sakura. Naruto simply nodded at her. "What's wrong?" asked Ino when Sakura got up. "To the washroom… excuse me…" said Sakura, and then she left. As soon as she stepped out of the room, Sasuke was there, waiting for her. "Where did you get my number?" Sakura immediately spat. Sasuke snorted at her. "Hn. It wasn't that hard to look for" he simply replied. "Come, we talk outside" said the boss as he led the way. Again, feeling defeated, Sakura followed him. "So, what is it?" asked Sakura, instinctively crossing her arms. Sasuke thought for awhile with his brows frowned deeply. "Explain to me" he said. Sakura raised an eyebrow at this, "Explain what?" she asked in return. The guy in front of Sakura did not seem so please about something, and yet, she was right. "Your friends just now… are they a couple? Really a couple?" asked Sasuke. Amused, Sakura's eyes widened. She really had a hard time not to laugh out loud but she managed to let out a sigh.

"Yeah, why?" asked Sakura, eyeing Sasuke. And the Uchiha seems troubled, he kept on looking away. Then, as Sakura's mind came clear of the other day chasing scene, it proved to her of something. "You! You've made a mistake, don't you?!" spat Sakura, nudging at Sasuke's chest while getting closer and closer towards him. The guilt and shame that built up on Sasuke's chest made him unable of making up any excuses, so he simply stepped backward. "Answer me! I don't know what you're thinking but clearly you've done some stupid thing!" said Sakura, raising her voice a little. Sasuke was rather annoyed at her for lashing out on him like that; he grabbed her wrist. "Let me go!" Sakura spat as she was struggling from his grab.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Naruto. Both Sasuke and Sakura were stunned; they immediately turned towards Naruto's voice. And they met the blondie's curious eyes.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi there readers! I can't wait to post this chapter, because of two reasons: 1, I've finished it too early and 2, this story will take a break for TWO weeks. Yeah, two weeks. I'm thinking of giving this story a break while I go on with the next chapters. Other stories will be updated as usual, however. So, tell me what you think. Just to give another hint, this chapter marked the end of this arc, and new arc will start at chapter 6 and I'm working on it. I just want to make sure that I'm always ahead of time on updating this. Sorry in advance for any mistakes at all regarding the spelling/grammar, I admit that I'm a careless person. Anyway, happy reading! See you in this story for another two weeks!**


	6. Surprise

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Only the story plot.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: Surprise<strong>

**XOXOXOX**

Naruto's curious eyes turned to surprise as Sasuke pulled Sakura towards him. The pull was rough and forceful, that Sakura was literally thrown to his chest. Her breath caught in her throat the second she cuddled to him; touching his toned chest as her hand was _accidentally_ placed on top of those muscles. His masculine smell lulled her, making Sakura forgot for the mere seconds of what she was supposed to do. When realization started to kick some sense back into her, Sakura's eyes shot open, she fought Sasuke's grasp around her shoulder but failed. "Wha—" the pinkette was stunned as his grip tightened, forcing her to stay close to him. "Naruto, I want to tell you something…" Sasuke smiled, "…this is my girlfriend" he said. His words felt like a boulder, crashing down on Sakura, weighing her down. "What?" she muttered, sending a curious stare at the Uchiha. And Naruto too, was dumbfounded, he froze at his place. "Teme— why don't you tell me?!" he said.

Agreeing with Naruto's question and frustration, Sakura shot another furious glare at Sasuke. "Yeah, this is ridicu—" and she was hushed by Sasuke as he put a finger over her lips. Her eyes widened. Sasuke shook slightly at her, as if he was trying to tell her something but, immediately, Sakura swatted his hand away. "Don't you hush m—" and again, Sakura was muted. But this time, it was his lips. Sakura's eyes widened at the surprise kiss and his lips were brushing at hers ever so softly. She was petrified and so was Naruto, while his jaw hit the floor. The kiss was short and a mere peck, but enough to make Sakura's mind went around the place. And Naruto, maybe raging a fire. Sasuke pulled away from the kiss, with a smirked on his face, staring into Sakura's shocked eyes. The pinkette put her trembling fingers on her lips, where the feeling of Sasuke's lips still lingered.

"What's all this?" muttered Naruto, exchanging gaze in between Sasuke and Sakura. Still smirking, Sasuke glanced at the stunned pinkette. "She just won't stop talking if I don't do that…" he said, ever so casually. Less that he knew, the kiss was Sakura's first –_he_ was her first kiss. "Bastard…" said Sakura under her breath with rainbows of emotion swirling in her chest. But the 'bastard' ignored her and simply walked away. As Sasuke walked pass Naruto, he stopped, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm just joking… No worry, she's all yours" he said. Naruto was totally baffled by the situation. And Sakura did not help at all in clearing the confusion; she yelled instead, "Sasuke, you jerk!"

**XOXOXOX**

In her room, Sakura trashed around. Her blanket was jumbled on the floor while she hit her pillow with all her might. "Jerk! Bastard! You bastard…!" was all that left her tiny lips as she landed her fists on the pillow. She was purposely imagining that the pillow was actually Sasuke's face. Then she stopped as the memory of the kiss ran through her mind. She blushed deep red. "Jerrkkk!" she yelled at the top of her lungs and hit the pillow again. Definitely, Sakura could not get her boss' face out of her head and it is tormenting her; well, in a weird way. She could not decide whether it was anger or joy, but what she knew was, Sasuke had completely turned her life upside down. Meanwhile, Mebuki was frowning at her daughter that was acting strange since evening. _"I hope she's okay…"_ she thought, silently stood at Sakura's door.

**x**

**The next day**

**x**

Sakura was typing diligently on the keyboard, reading through thousands of text, making sure that none of the mistakes escaped her eyes. _'…The taichou would hate it if he spotted any mistake at all'_. Yeah, she still remembered the words that Tenten said. She kept it in her mind all the time while she was doing her editing. And the _taichou_, she secretly thought that _he _was Sasuke himself. Damn him! It was always him, the –handsome– prick. Sakura bit her bottom lip slightly at the mention of the 'prick' by her inner-Sakura. Handsome, yet annoyingly pain in the ass! That was what she thought, and the kiss—

'Ringgg…'

The phone rang and it startled Sakura. She sighed before answering it. "Yes, speaking" she said, almost lazily. _Speaking of the devil!_ She thought, as her eyes shot opened when she heard the 'prick' –Sasuke's voice at the end of the line. Like usual, he was asking for her to see him, out of the blue. Sakura clenched her jaw as she hung up. She saved her works in the desktop and got up from her seat. "Where're you going?" asked Tenten. Sakura turned to the lady and smiled, "To meet the boss…" she said. Tenten nodded to her. "I guess he just like to see you…" she said in a whisper, then smiling awkwardly. "Yeah, to see me and make me suffer" replied Sakura cynically, before she left the office. Tenten simply smile at her reply.

**XOXOXOX**

Minutes later, knocks was heard on the door before it was opened slightly. A pink-haired lady entered. Sasuke looked at Sakura blankly; letting the lady to step closer to his table, with his gaze never falter from her. Sakura somehow averted his stare by looking at his nose or lips –well, maybe not his lips, she thought, as it reminded her of their first kiss, _her_ first kiss for Godsake! "_Damn him for stealing my first kiss!"_ she thought and the tingling feeling came again upon her soft, plump pinkish lips. So she tried to stare at any of his other features, as long as it was not his blank onyx eyes –and lips- that were tantalizing her. If the blank dark onyx of his is the sea, she would have drowned by now; despite she was a pretty good swimmer. And then a realization hit her, Sasuke was not alone in the room –_she _was not alone with Sasuke. _"And why would I want to be alone with him anyway?"_ her inner-self spat. Apparently, a blond guy was sitting in front of Sasuke, and was smiling to her, eyeing her from the moment she entered the room.

"Hi, Sakura-chan" greeted Naruto. Sakura smiled at him in return as her heart started to beat crazily out of nothing. She then stood in front of the boss' desk, next to Naruto. "Yes, Sasuke-sama? I actually thinking of meeting you too, today" she said, and her inner-self cheered in joy that she somehow managed to pull a tough face against his colder one.

Hearing the determination in her voice, Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "I see. Then lady's first" he said, almost smirking. Sakura inhaled a short breath before starting but Naruto's presence was not appropriate for her to say anything that she had in her heart for the moment. She peeked on Naruto and obviously, just like Sasuke too, he was curious of what she had to say. And that made Sakura even more uncomfortable. She sighed inwardly. "No, not now…" she frowned slightly. "It's about work, so I guess we'll talk privately next time" she said –she lied, and Sasuke caught that. But he let her slipped this one. "Okay, then let me talk" he said. Sakura nodded slightly in agreement. Then Sasuke tapped his index finger lightly onto something on the desk. Sakura looked at it and it was an envelope. "It's for you, personally from Naruto" said Sasuke, shifting his gaze from Sakura then his friend.

Sakura's eyes were widening in surprise, if not; wonder as she turned her gaze towards that ever grinning Naruto. "For… me?" she muttered. "Yeah, take it. And see what's inside" said Naruto, giving his assurance smile. Sakura took the envelope that was printed with the Uchiha and Uzumaki's seal. She then peeked inside before she took a card out. "A cruise… ticket?" she muttered with her eyebrows raised. A lot of question marks written on her face at that moment, with her lips pouted a little and head tilted slightly, in which Naruto found it adorable. "You saw it right. This coming weekend, our companies will be launching the first trip for our cruise ship. So, I thought of inviting one of the lovely ladies I've known for this special event" said Naruto. And Sakura smiled awkwardly at his words. "Pardon me?" she managed to utter. "You, I'm inviting you, Sakura-chan" Naruto repeated.

And Sakura inner-self repeatedly slammed her head to the wall from realization that Naruto was actually hitting on her. She managed to let out a chuckle while imagining that. "Th-Thank you… that's so kind of you" she said, looking back at the invitation. "But… this is a 4 days and 3 nights cruise trip…" she said and quickly being cut off by Sasuke. "You can take a few days off. I don't mind. Someone can cover your job here" he said. Sakura unconsciously nodded. "Yeah…" then some sense kick in, she shook rapidly. "Wait! What if—" she gulped. "…what if I… refuse to go?" she asked. Both Naruto and Sasuke gave her that questioning look, a look that sent a clear message of 'why would you refuse a once in a lifetime cruise trip from these handsome men in front of you?'. Well, she practically blinked at them. "If you can't go… it's fine with me" said Naruto, with his clear voice and usual sweet smile that Sakura almost, almost, fell for. That brief moment of her staring into his obsidian blue eyes, had her thinking again about the offer.

"Is it…" Sakura tried to hide her blush, "…is it for free?" her eyes squinted. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her innocent question while Naruto chuckled. _"Damn! They must have thought that I'm a poor, pathetic lady that finally fell for their bait! Shannaroooo—"_ her inner-self screamed in embarrassment. But Naruto quickly brushed off her overreacting thought. "Yeah, of course. It's special for you, Sakura-chan…" he said. A glimmer of hope was clearly shown on his face. He must have prayed hard in his heart hoping that Sakura would eventually accept the offer. In fact, Sakura was fighting with herself inside. Her lips pressed together tightly, eyebrows frowned slightly while her mind calculating all the pros and cons of accepting and not accepting the offer.

_"__What if I found myself a rich guy on the cruise? I bet a lot of rich and handsome guys will be onboard too!"_ her perverted inner-self nosebleed at the thought and she almost smiled at that. Then she realized that Naruto was still looking at her, anticipating her reply. _"But this guy is not bad himself and to think that he's also a rich guy… I may hook up on him. Besides, he hit on me already, isn't it?"_ she continued to think then glancing over to Sasuke. _"And this prick, he— I can't think of anything…"_ her inner-self laughed. Suddenly Ino's voice entered her head, _'You can find guy among your colleagues… or maybe, your boss'. "Ah, yes… this boss of yours is also on the 'list'! What bad things could have happened if you go?"_ her inner-self naughtily telling her. Sakura blinked a few times.

That short moment of being in her own mind, had Sakura feeling exhausted mentally. But the thought of going on a cruise ship that was owned by two giant business firms and the fact it is for free because one of the tycoon's sons actually likes her, was tempting enough. _"That's because I'm beautiful, isn't it?"_ she thought and her inner-self corrected her, _"We are!"_. The worse that could happen was, she actually hooked up on other guy instead of Naruto or Sasuke, but scratched that! It was not the negative! She hardly found any cons for it.

"So?" asked Sasuke that completely snapped Sakura out from her _calculation_. "Umm… I guess I'm going…" she exhaled. "Really? It's going to be great! I promise you!" exclaimed Naruto in excitement, almost jumping off his seat. Sasuke sighed. "Well, it's settled then…" he said. Sakura smiled at them both.

**XOXOXOX**

As they talked about the details, Naruto excused himself afterwards, saying that he had a meeting with his father at his office. Sakura too, turning away to leave, when Sasuke stopped her. "Sakura, you stay" he said, firmly. His voice was always calm and enticing that it never ceases to send a cold running through Sakura's spine. Not the cold that she felt when she saw a spider on the wall, no. But the kind of cold she would like to have on bed, while embracing a guy that she loves, and have him whispering sweet nothing into her ears, yes, that kind of cold. She had imagined that the _guy_ was Sasuke. She slapped herself mentally.

"Yes?" she turned to him again. "So, what do you want to tell me before?" he asked, without wasting any time. Sakura gaped a little at his question. She almost forgot about that, and now she wondered if it was actually necessary at all or if it will change anything. She cleared her throat before answering. "It's about…" she pulled the hem of her blouse slightly in nervousness. "…the kiss…" she said it in a whisper that it made Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He might have thought that he heard her wrong. "Kiss?" he repeated. Sakura blushed deep red. Now, she regretted it. Sasuke smirked at her. "What about the _kiss_?" he purposely asked, pretending that he was oblivious of her question. The fact is, he wanted to know why and what she actually thought about it.

Sakura's breath became shallower as she felt the heat from his stare and his smirk -his smirk just grew wider. "F-Forget it!" she stuttered, turning away and wanting to just disappear from his sight and put a spell on him so that he forgot that she ever asked him about it. "Don't leave" he stated, making her stopped, yet again. _"Damn him! So persistent!"_ she cussed inwardly. Slowly, Sakura turned to him, with her head lowered, only her eyes glancing towards the Uchiha. She could hear Sasuke sighing. "Spit it out. What about it?" he asked, with his voice deepened. Sakura inhaled deeply, looking up at him. "That kiss… why did you… kissed me?" she muttered but loud enough for Sasuke to hear.

"To shut you up" he simply answered. Sakura was taken aback by his blunt reply. Well, he did say that yesterday –to shut her up. But the answer was unacceptable for Sakura. "To shut me up?" she repeated with her eyes widened slightly, and disappointment in her tone. _"Yeah, why would I expect it to be anything special?!" _she screamed to herself. Sakura forced a smile and Sasuke returned her with a smirk. "Is it bothering you so much?" he asked. He had caught Sakura off guard with such asking. Sakura's smile dropped into a straight line. "It's not like you've never kiss anyone before…" said Sasuke, glancing upon the pinkette. And obviously she had a stun expression on her face. "…or is it your first kiss?" he quickly appended. _"There! He hit the piñata!"_ Sakura's inner-self screamed. Sakura turned pale while Sasuke smirked even more, with his gaze bore straight into her soul.

Sakura was speechless. She bit her bottom lip and really wanted to burst out of the room as she almost believed that he could actually read her mind, except that it was impossible. Still, his gaze pressured her too much. Seeing that Sakura was frozen at her place not to mention turning pale white, Sasuke cleared his throat to catch her attention. Sakura blinked at the guy in front of her, still not knowing of what else to say. If she said yes, it will be a triumph for him, to be able to steal her first kiss. But if she said no, and denied his statement, he might catch her lying or thought that she was thinking too much about the kiss. And he will belittle her for thinking of the kiss as anything special. _"He might even think that I fall for him!"_ Sakura continued to over think things.

Sasuke was bored of the silent game, so he broke the silent. "Sakura?" he called out to the pinkette. Sakura once again being snap out of her trance state. "It's… nothing. It's—" she was stuttering. _"Damn it, Sakura!"_ she cussed mentally. "Yes! It's my first kiss! And I hate you for it!" she spat. Sasuke was stunned by her, but she also amused him in many ways. He smirked at her and that made Sakura's heart beating so fast that she could almost had a heart attack. "I see…" was all Sasuke said. Sakura was rather dumbfounded by his response. "That's all?" she muttered. Sasuke tilted his head slightly as to give a 'what else' look. "You hated me for stealing your first kiss, I get it…" he then said. "What?" Sakura frowned deeply. "What's what? What are you expecting me to say?" he then asked, clasping his hands together and looking at Sakura intensely.

"A first kiss… meant to be special…" muttered the now blushing pinkette. Sasuke stayed silent and was all ears for her. "…at least, you could've say… _sorry_…" she almost whispered the word 'sorry'. Sasuke snorted loudly. "No, why would I?" he coldly stated, now crossing his arms. Sakura looked at him blankly. _"Bastard as always!"_ she thought. "You might think that I'm a bastard right now… but I won't say sorry for kissing you" he smirked. And hell yeah, he is a bastard, Sakura thought. "You know what, ladies would line up to get a kiss from me…" he leaned closer to the desk. "…and you're lucky that I kissed you willingly" he shot a deadly smirk at her.

"Bastard" she muttered, then stormed out of the office. Sasuke was smirking at her attitude. _"She's interesting indeed" _he silently thought.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the two weeks hiatus. So how do you like this new chapter? Tell me what you think! I hope you all like it. Happy reading!**


	7. Heartbeat

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Heartbeat<strong>

**XOXOXOX**

It was raining. The cloudy sky spread over the horizon. _"__This will be awhile…"_ Sasuke thought as he looked out from the glass wall in his office. He stood silent looking at the gloomy sky; with his left hand placed on the glass while the other in his pocket. The clock ticked forty minutes pass four. Sasuke turned to his desk again and was startled a little at the sight of his lovely secretary by the door. "Rie… I didn't hear you coming" he said firmly, trying not to show his shocked feeling through his tone. The dark haired lady smiled slightly, "I'm sorry, Sasuke sama. I don't want to disturb you just now…" she said. "You seem to be in deep thoughts lately… that's rare of you" she continued, almost ending it with a chuckle.

Sasuke snorted, "So, you're saying that I'm not allowed to be in deep thoughts?" he smirked at her. Rie's smile die instantly, "I don't mean—". Sasuke quickly cut in, "Or you're implying that I'm incapable of being in deep thoughts?" his smirk grew darker. Rie swallowed hard at his deviously handsome face, decorated with his drooping bangs and that sinful smirk of his across his lips. "I… I don't mean any of that at all…" she frowned. "Don't worry, Rie. I'm just teasing you" said Sasuke, tried to ease the tense in Rie. "So, what brings you here?" he then asked, sitting on his chair. Rie exhaled in relieve silently. She held out a document, giving it to Sasuke. "It's almost time to go home, Sasuke-sama…" she said. For seconds, Sasuke's eyes widened. He glanced at the time on his monitor, then his watch, as if he could not trust the computer.

"That's why I said, you're being in much thoughts lately, Sasuke-sama…" said Rie, this time she ended in a chuckle. Sasuke squinted at her. "You didn't even realize that it's almost time to go?" Rie continued to tease her stoic boss. A low grunt slipped from Sasuke's mouth. "A rather interesting comment you gave me…" he said, smirking slightly while going through the report sheets. "You may go now…" he then said, glancing at Rie. The lady nodded before she left the room.

After tidying his desk, Sasuke went out and made his way to the elevator. _"It would be less troublesome if I just install a private elevator only for myself…"_ he thought with his eyebrows knitted, while looking into spaces. He stood at the back in the confined box, trying hard to stay invisible amongst the crowd of his own employees. But he failed as women just could not leave him alone. Being in a lift like that with him, they simply whispered to each other of how lucky they were, of how handsome he is and anything in between the line of their never-ending admiration towards him. And some of the women even purposely squeezed themselves closer to Sasuke. Of what purpose, that was out of Sasuke's questions. He just did not and would not want to think about it. Then, sometimes out of luck, he might meet outspoken women that would straightforwardly ask him out. Troublesome as it is, Sasuke usually played it cool, and rejected them –politely.

**XOXOXOX**

'Ting'

The elevator door opened at the lobby. Everyone went out of the box. And Sasuke was being the last person as he stood the farthest inside. _"A little bit more to freedom…"_ he thought, while his eyes fixated at the rotating glass door, a few feet away from him. Years of working there, Sasuke had learned to endure the affections he received from his female employees, sometimes the male too. And to survive unneeded affections in the elevator. Most importantly, he had learned to be eager to leave the office building just like any other salary men. Sighing in relieve, Sasuke finally stepped out of the building. He shut his eyes momentarily, inhaling the cool damp air outside. _"Being single just sucks sometimes" _he grudgingly thought, as he silently agrees that being a married man would be much easier to dodge the unneeded attention. _"Just like nii-san did…" _he clenched his jaw at his own-self that was so suddenly admiring Itachi.

Sasuke swiftly made his way to his car, where the valet was waiting with an umbrella. But the corner of his eyes caught a glimpse of something pink. He looked to his left. _"More like someone with pink hair…"_ he corrected his thought while unconsciously smirk at the pinky that was embracing herself for some heat. "Sakura" Sasuke called out to the pink haired lady that was obviously oblivious of him coming towards her. She turned to him slowly. "Sasuke-sama?" her eyebrows rose subtly. "Waiting for someone?" asked Sasuke, standing at an arm length away from her. "Yes, I'm waiting for Ino…" answered Sakura simply. Sasuke nodded, vaguely remember the blond girl named Ino. "Then, I'll get going…" he said. He went over to his car and got in.

"It sure is cold today, sir. Have a safe journey…" said the valet as he closed the door for Sasuke. Hearing the valet talking to him, it was rather refreshing for Sasuke. As the smartly dressed valet guy rarely spoke to him, except for a smile. However, that was not totally the case. Sasuke opened the car door again and went out in a swift movement. "Sir?" muttered the valet as he was shocked at Sasuke's action of coming out in the rain. Apparently, the raven haired guy went towards a certain pinkette, it made the valet guy zipped his mouth shut. He practically remembered the event of 'kidnapping'.

"Sakura…" Sasuke called out breathlessly as he was pacing towards her in the rain. Sasuke could believe that he was possessed of doing such things mindlessly. Then Sakura turned to him, yet again, but with more questioning look in her eyes, if not amusement. Her jaw slackened slightly, as if she wanted to say something but Sasuke cut in first. "Come with me" he said, standing in front of her. "What?" Sakura mumbled as she cocked her head slightly at Sasuke's height. "I'll take you home" muttered Sasuke, trying hard to conceal his blush while trying to sound reasonable at the same time_. "She must've thought that I'm out of my mind right now! Fuck that!"_ Sasuke cussed inwardly while his onyx eyes gawked wildly all over her blank face, not knowing of where to appropriately rest his gaze.

Meanwhile, Sakura's green eyes were still widened in surprise, gleaming against Sasuke's colder ones. Clearly, she was frozen from his out-of-the-world request and yes, Sasuke's heart was beating madly from the fuzziness he felt. _"What am I doing?"_ he thought while frowning slightly and those words repeated over and over again in his head. If it can be seen, he must have been flooded by those words by now. Somehow, it irritated Sasuke a little, the glares and whispers from the people around, that is. "Don't act dumb or deaf now, Sakura…" he whispered, tugging on her hand lightly and taking her –forcing her to come with him. For seconds, Sasuke shuddered at the feel of her cold hand in his warmer one but he refused to show it on his face, masking it with a deep frown.

"W-wait… I thought I've told you that my friend is coming" Sakura managed to blurt out in the midst of confusion of being taken away. Sasuke stopped, they stopped. He turned to her again. "I know. But she's still not coming right?" he said firmly, saying whatever there is he had in mind to convince her that he was absolutely sane. And yes, Sakura was once again dazed by his look –_that_ concern look on his face seems to not suit him but worked like a spell at that moment, when Sakura unconsciously nodded. Sighing a little, Sasuke opened the door of the passenger seat, "Get inside" he said. "Aa—" was all the syllable that Sakura could say as she obeyed him. Then Sasuke went to the driver's seat, secretly grasped his hands into fists, to shake off the slight tremble. The engine roared as they left the lobby, leaving all the curious and burning eyes behind.

**XOXOXOX**

Silent fell upon them for minutes. Both were still shocked of what had happened. The atmosphere in between them was plummeting and almost suffocating. And the temperature was rather cold not because of the rain but sweat formed on Sasuke's temple. _"This is awkward. Why didn't she say anything?"_ he thought silently as he peeked at the pinkette next to him. _"Sakura, say something!"_ he clenched his jaw while his hands gripped tighter at the steering. Immediately, he regretted himself of being impossibly a gentleman-on-impulse just a moment before. _"If that could be considered as being a gentleman, most likely a kidnapper"_ he silently thought, gnawing his inner cheek. Unconsciously, a low sigh slipped out of his lips.

Sakura peeked on him too, secretly. "You… you know my address?" she broke the silence. _"Finally!"_ Sasuke's heart leapt in joy. "Hn. You tell me then…" he said, sounding as cold as usual. Sakura shook her head slightly at his tone as she told him her address. "Just now… don't you think that the others will feel weird of your action? Taking me away just like that?" asked Sakura. Sasuke grimaced inwardly at her statement. _"She's right…" _he thought silently while formulating an excuse. "No one would dare question my actions" he said bluntly. Sakura raised an eyebrow. She was totally amused by his ego and confident level.

Then they stayed silent again, while Sakura was tapping on her phone. Sasuke peeked on her, "Texting your friend?" he asked. Nodding slightly, Sakura sighed. "Yeah, I'm telling Ino that a friend is sending me home" she said. Sasuke snorted at her. "But you don't have to 'kidnap' me like this each time, Sasuke-sama…" she blurted it out. "Drop the _'sama'_. We're not at work right now" said Sasuke, smirking. He started to feel warm and comfortable talking to her. "Sasuke?" muttered Sakura as she threw her gaze away to the road. "But calling you on first name basis without the suffix would feel… awkward… as if we're friends" she squinted at him. Sasuke was slightly taken aback by her response, thinking that she still had her guard up high.

"I thought that you've just tell Ino that I am a _friend_" Sasuke smirked at her, purposely pressing on the word 'friend'. Sakura gaped at his response. And less that she knew, the Uchiha was proud of himself of being able to shatter her each and every time. "But I prefer formality!" she counterattacked him. Her tone and her response somewhat amused Sasuke. _"Interesting…" _he thought. "Hn. You're annoying" he simply said, contrasting his own thought. Then silence consumed them again. Until Sakura realized something was odd. "Hey, I thought that you're sending me home? This is not the way home!" she gawked at her boss that was practically showing nothing on his face. She realized that the car was going somewhere against her path home. "Sasuke?!" she yelled, pulling on his sleeve. "Calm down, Sakura" he sighed. "A coffee won't hurt, right? Maybe this time, you'll pay" he added, with a devious smile on his face.

Sakura stayed still again in disbelief. "You could have told me earlier…" she muttered, crossing her arms. _"Cute… but slow…"_ Sasuke could not help it but thought as he peeked on the lady next to him.

**XOXOXOX**

As they entered the café, they were greeted by the tempting aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Sasuke led their way, while Sakura silently entailed him to the farthest seat at the back. "Your order please?" asked the waitress. "Black coffee, no sugar" said Sasuke. "Hot chocolate for me, please" said Sakura. Then the waitress left. "Hot chocolate?" muttered Sasuke as he snorted at the pinkette across of him. "What's wrong with that? Black coffee with no sugar isn't that awesome either…" Sakura scowled at the Uchiha, crossing her arms. Somehow the guy did not answer; he simply stared at her, making the pinkette blushing madly. "What is it? Is there anything on my face?" said Sakura as she immediately ran her hands on her cheeks.

Sasuke shook his head slightly. "I wonder why Naruto fall for you…" he said. And that made Sakura frowning in wonder. "You're not that pretty…" he continued while observing Sakura without blinking. "What? So rude of you..." said Sakura with eyes narrowed. "No offence… you're pretty but not to my liking. And that dobe, haven't even talk to you but he had fallen for you" said Sasuke, while resting his head on his palm, still eyeing the flushed pinkette. "Love at the first sight, perhaps?" muttered Sakura while staring into space, then smile. Sasuke sighed, "I guess so… but I don't believe it. For me, I need to know someone for a long time before I actually fall for her" he stated. Sakura nodded at him. "So, have you found her yet?" asked Sakura with her eyes widened in anticipation.

The raven haired guy shifted his gaze away from her. "Not yet. I'm not interested in anyone right now" he said. "I bet you've never fallen in love before. Because you're acting like this…" Sakura pointed to him, trailing her finger up and down. Sasuke put a blank face against her. "Like what?" he muttered. Then the waitress returned with their drinks. They stayed silent for awhile, both sipping on their drinks. "So, have you fallen in love before?" asked Sakura, appending on her previous question. Sasuke stared into his black coffee. "No, but I do date a few girls before. Although I won't call that love because I don't feel that way" he answered. "Hm… how do we know if we actually fall in love with someone?" muttered Sakura, darting her gaze away.

Sasuke stared at her for seconds in silent. "Ask Naruto" he then said. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "I guess infatuation doesn't count…" she muttered. Sasuke shot a questioning look at her, demanding for more explanation. Sakura sighed, "For example when your heart beats madly out of norm when you see this certain someone…" she blushed, "…although you dislike him for so many reasons, but yet you're nervous and tingling around him…" she added. Sasuke snorted at her. "Are you referring to me?" he asked, crossing his arms and leaning at his chair contentedly. In returned, Sakura's eyes were widened in surprise. Her lips were sealed tightly. "It's fine. I'm used to it" stated Sasuke with an amused smile on his face.

"Don't think too much into it! I've told you, it doesn't count!" Sakura spat then she sipped on her drink. Sasuke did not response in any way, only giving Sakura the usual spine chilling stare, but her next statement had caught him off guard. "But next time… don't do this" she muttered, glancing at Sasuke. "…I mean, don't simply take me away or steal kisses from me anymore…" she blushed, almost whispering on the word 'kisses'. Sasuke scoffed at her. "I mean it, dammit!" she spat but immediately clasped her hand over her mouth. "Okay, but why not?" asked Sasuke. "Because I might took it as a mistake, that you actually like me… I don't want to fall for you when everything you do means nothing" Sakura muttered, looking down on her lap.

The young Uchiha gaped at her. _"Never cease to amaze me"_ he thought, as a smile slowly growing across his lips. While in reality, his heart beats madly and her words somewhat disappoint him. "You're making me nervous there, Sakura…" he smirked. Sakura glanced at him. "…I almost thought that you're going to confess to me…" he sighed. A strange feeling clutched to his heart, suffocating him.

**XOXOXOX**

The rain had long stopped. And they had just arrived at Sakura's home. "Thank you for the ride" she said as she got out of the car. Sasuke nodded to her, "Now we're even. You've paid your debt" he said. Sakura squinted at the guy. "You're impossible, you know?" she commented, ending it with a sigh. "Bye!" she quickly turned and walked away. As Sakura was halfway to the door, her phone rang. She immediately stopped and took her phone out.

'Bastard calling…' was beaming on her phone screen. Sakura was startled; she turned around again, looking at Sasuke that was still in his car by the sidewalk. He signaled to her to pick up the phone, and sighing out loud, Sakura answered.

'Sakura…' Sasuke started the close distant phone call, while they actually looked at each other. '…if you've confess to me back there at the café, I might actually fall for you'. He then left, leaving Sakura with rainbows of feeling.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi there! Sorry if this chapter is not as much as you've anticipated. I just thought of a chapter to be inserted before the 'cruise chapter' and here it is! However, I want to make something clear, just in case it isn't already so clear to you all; in this story, I'd like to think of Sakura as an innocent young lady and at the same time she often unaware of any hints given or her surroundings. It makes Sasuke feels that she's kinda cute but annoying at the same time. Thoughts and constructive criticisms are always welcomed!**

**And by the way, I've tried to write this chapter in Sasuke's perspective as suggested by C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only since I was intrigued by her comment last time. I admit that it was hard as hell to write in Sasuke's perspective, I don't know why. But I'll try my best next time, in shifting between those two's perspectives. Believe me; I'm intrigued and excited all over. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	8. This Torture

**Disclaimer: *sigh* I don't own the characters. Except for the plot. It's MINE!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: This Torture <strong>

**XOXOXOX**

'Sakura…' Sasuke whispered into Sakura's ear. His voice was husky and biting into her bones, proven by the way she trembled in his arms. 'Sasuke-kun…' she whispered back with a gasp, as Sasuke dug his face into the crook of her neck. One hand on her waist, holding her in place, as their bodies collided. While the other hand cupping the base of her neck, securing her head for an ethereal kiss.

Sasuke felt the heat from her skin, and her heartbeat against his chest. _'What am I doing?'_ Sasuke thought, as he kissed her soft skin and breathed into Sakura's sweet scent. He growled inwardly, brushing his nose tip along her neck, while sucking on her skin. She moaned when he found the right spot and slowly, Sasuke bit into her skin. 'Sas-suke… kun—' not once but many times, his name came tumbling from her sweet little mouth, as her hands running carelessly on his back or fisting with his dark locks.

Slowly, Sasuke pushed her to lie down. Her eyes were half-lidded, lusty and needy. Her cheeks turned dusty pink while her hair sprawled on the mattress, with an expression of wanting for something. The sight was unreal, _'Unreal it is…'_ Sasuke thought, while hovering above her, heart beats like crazy and mind went all over the place. And her plump lips, being pouted in a way that made Sasuke baffled. As if those glistening lips were asking for a kiss, a senseless kiss. Bit by bit, he was drawn by the slightly parted lips; Sasuke leaned closer, in attempt to satisfy the needs. As he got closer to her lips, a loud beeping sound was heard. Everything went dark.

_/Beep/Beep/Beepppp…/_

The darkness was snatched away by the light. Sasuke suddenly realized that he was on his right side; a digital alarm clock was beeping on the table, an arm length away from him. He groaned before he turned the annoying alarm off. But his heart was still beating madly and the last few images of his 'sweet' dream were still printed in his mind. Sasuke cupped his own face, thinking of the _reality_ behind the dream. _"Shit… what was that dream just now?"_ he thought and he was fully aware of the fact that his boxer had tighten. After some moment of bedazzle, he got up and walked to the bathroom. Undeniably, all he think of was the dream and the pinkette with every swung of his legs towards the not-so-far bathroom. "Tch… annoying…" he muttered, mostly to himself, of not being able to win over the perverted mind of his; of silently wanting the dream to be real.

However, Sasuke was not a pervert to be exact. He finally entered the bathroom; his feet stepped on the cold mosaic flooring, sending a shivery feel throughout his body. Since he was too lazy to wear the slippers inside –no, the slippers were just too, _'…troublesome'_ as he thought; although, he did glanced at the pair of white rubber slippers by the bathroom door. He turned the faucet on and washed his face, in hope that the dream will wash away too. Sasuke sighed against the running water. He could not get rid of the pinkette's smile and their intimation in the dream, he growled lowly at it. _"Sakura… how annoying…"_ he thought. "How could she make me feel this way?" he muttered, running his hand through his hair.

_'…infatuation doesn't count…'_ Sakura's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. _"What if I actually like her?"_ Sasuke silently thought. He clenched his jaw. He knew the feeling he had in his stomach whenever he thought of her was genuine. And the way his heart drum each time he saw her, it was melodic. As if he was falling in love. _"What is this feeling anyway?"_ he thought, closing his eyes. Only a short gasp, sigh and grunt sometimes escaped his lips, as Sasuke was not much of a talker. But he would not let himself being plagued by this torturing thought for long, he will _face_ it. _"Soon… just you wait…"_ he smirked.

**XOXOXOX**

That morning, Sasuke went to the office as usual. He entered the lobby casually, left hand in his pocket while receiving lots of morning greeting from the employees that happened to walk pass by him. As he walked over to one of the opened elevator, in which people rushed to enter it, Sasuke caught a glimpse of pink inside. He swallowed hard and unconsciously his steps became slower. As if he did not want to get in the elevator, or rather _be_ in the same elevator with the pink. He completely stopped alas, and the elevator door closed. He exhaled loudly, since his breathe hitched in his chest just now. How suffocating it could be, only by thinking of himself being in the same confined space with Sakura.

Seconds later, Sasuke snapped from his trance state. He went to the next elevator, ignoring the confused stares he got from people around. His hands gripped tight by his side. _"Idiot…"_ he thought while gritting his teeth. And the 'idiot' is himself, for he knew that the day will be difficult and long if he did not do anything about the butterfly in his stomach. _He had to get rid of it_, he grudgingly thought.

**XOXOXOX**

"See me…" was all he had to say. And Sakura was now in front of him. Awkwardness filled the air between them as both were well aware of yesterday's event. "Yes, Sasuke-sama?" asked Sakura. Meanwhile, Sasuke silently imprinted her face in his mind, perversely comparing it to the one in his dream. He salivated at his own thought. "Have lunch with me today…" he mumbled. _Mumbled_.

Sakura's heartbeat picked up at his demand and the sole fact that he was actually mumbling. Well, of course being added with the main point of it, 'having lunch'… _"…with him?"_ she thought, raising her eyebrows. And she as well, still had the thought of yesterday's near-to-confession talk with Sasuke. Sakura cleared her throat. "Umm… I have to reject this… request" she said and immediately received widened eyes from her boss. "Why?" he spoke firmly. "Because I already promised to Tenten-san, that we'll be going toget—" then she was cut off, "Cancel it" by Sasuke. So much that she could expect from him, "I have an important thing to tell you..." he said, staring blankly into her emerald eyes.

The pinkette felt slightly angered at his never-ending distraction. "But, Sasuke-sama… you can't—" she paused, gasping, then continued "…you can't be this demanding!". Ah, she spat at him. Sasuke's eyebrows rose subtly at her tone. "Sorry…" Sakura sighed. "…but can't you tell me about it here?" she asked, lowering her tone. Sasuke smirked at her, "No. It's somewhat personal, that I need to talk to you in private" he replied. _"Personal? What if he confesses to me?"_ Sakura thought, silently biting her inner cheek. But she blushed anyway, it made Sasuke groaned inwardly. "Do you remember, tomorrow is the cruise day?" Sasuke stated, leaning back on his chair, arms crossed. Sakura nodded in response.

"Yes, but what about it?" asked Sakura. "The thing I'm gonna tell you is about this coming cruise. It's important" said Sasuke, trying hard to sound convincing. Sakura inhaled deeply. "Fine, but I won't tolerate any of your bullshit anymore!" her eyes widen, and her words were venomous. Sasuke frowned slightly. _"Not so innocent after all…"_ he thought, while the dream replayed in his mind, with extra effects of her cussing on bed. _"Fuck!"_ he inwardly cussed at his perverted thought. "Fine, Sakura… then meet me at the entrance" he exhaled, finally receiving a nod from the pinkette.

**XOXOXOX**

"Again?!" stated Tenten in pure disappointment. She scowled over the pinkette's broken promises. "I'm sorry, Tenten-san… maybe next time" said Sakura. "Last time, you said your friend came over and you have lunch with her. Another time, you said your mom came over…" Tenten sighed deeply, "And now… the boss _need_ you?! What do you mean by 'need' anyway?" her eyes widen while her face a total question mark. Sakura heave a long and tired sigh. "I don't know… he needs to talk to me about the tomorrow's event. That's all…" she said. Tenten crossed her arms. "I've told you!" she grimaced. "He must have something over you… trust me, Sakura-san!" she whispered. Sakura chuckled. "Whatever…" was all she managed to say, while her mind repeatedly agreed with Tenten. _"He really is something!"_ she thought as she left the office for _the _lunch.

Sakura left the building and Sasuke was waiting for her outside._"Walking to the place will be much more… romantic?"_ Sasuke thought as Sakura appeared among the crowd. Then he just walked ahead, without saying any word, leaving Sakura to silently entailing him. They left the place, walking a short distant to a nearby eatery. Only a short glance was shared in between them before they entered. As usual, they had chosen the back seat. And for some moment, both were silent. The situation was not supposed to be that awkward as they have met like that for a few times, but this time it was rather tormenting.

"So, what are you going to tell me?" said Sakura, raising an eyebrow towards the quiet Uchiha. Sasuke cleared his throat purposely, staring at her blankly. "Later, we'll have our lunch first" he smirked. "I don't want any of us to lose the appetite…" he continued to plaster that smug smirk of his onto his handsome face. _"What could it be? Is it that bad?"_ Sakura silently thought while eyeing him. All the while they were having their lunch, they stayed quiet. Only some clanks were heard as the fork and spoon collided; a war on the plate.

And when they have finished, they both went out leaving the place. Sakura started to think that Sasuke simply needed someone to accompany him for lunch. As she started to feel pity at the lonely boss of hers, Sasuke stopped and turned towards her. Sakura too, abruptly stopping. He stared at her for some moment, before stepping closer. Sakura frowned at him. _"He better not say nor does anything meaningless… or I'll smack him for good this time!"_ she thought furiously, although tint of pink started to appear on her cheeks. "Sakura…" he voiced out, grasping on Sakura's left arm. His voice was vibrating across Sakura's fibers and the fact that he was touching her made her heart leapt. She swallowed hard, flinching slightly but he held her tight. And the next thing Sasuke said was sending her to heaven and back.

"What will you do if I tell you that…" he gulped. "…**_I like you_**?" he breathed out. And Sakura was numb. She was drowning in his dark emotionless eyes, as his words sank in her mind. Sasuke blinked at her, giving her time to register his words and to finally response –with a gasp. Yeah, Sakura gasped, pulling her arm away. Her brows furrowed as she spat, "What?!". Sasuke was shocked –no, amused somehow. He sighed and turning his back on her, again.

**.**

**The next da****y**

**.**

"Take care, Sakura! And don't forget the _thing_ that I put in your purse!" shouted Ino while Sakura grimaced at her, hurriedly leaving the car. Recalling the scene of Ino putting –or Sakura rather called it, shoving the _thing_ into her purse, she kept a mental note to definitely throw it away once she got into her cabin. And as Sakura get onboard, she practically remembered Naruto calling on her phone last night, telling her something in between the line of 'I'll wait for you tomorrow'. Suddenly, her phone vibrated, ringing a notification tone. She took it out. _"Naruto…"_ she thought, swiping the screen to unlock and read the text message.

_'Sorry, Sakura-chan but something come up, so you have to check-in by yourself. I promise to make it up to you later'_

Sakura's eyes squinted. She sighed. Slowly, she walked over to the tall smartly dressed good-looking young guy that is supposed to be the attendant. A big crowd were still lingering there, so Sakura decided to stay behind. She suddenly wondered about how Naruto got her phone number. _"I wonder where he got it?"_ she thought silently, although the image of her raven haired boss did run through her mind. "It must be him…" she muttered. And thinking about Sasuke, had Sakura feeling the pleasant chill running down her spine. She could not help it but confused of his feelings towards her. And his words yesterday were the most unforgettable.

_/Flashback…_

_After turning his back on her, Sasuke peeked at her over his shoulder. "That's what Naruto gonna say to you tomorrow…" he smirked. "So, what is your response?" he then said. Sakura blinked at him. She grasped his meaning now, she gasped. "I… I don't know…" she muttered. _

_/End of flashback…_

Sakura shook her head at the memory. She tried to focus on the present day, on the reality. The place was crowded with all sorts of people. Only one thing makes them similar, "…the smell of pride" muttered Sakura. She stood there, glancing around the lavishly furnished lobby. Then, she looked down at her invitation ticket. The gold colored _'VIP'_ printed at the top left corner of the ticket made Sakura smiled silently.

"Sakura-san?" called out a firm, familiar voice. Sakura turned to the voice.**  
><strong>

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><p><strong>AN 1: First of all, I wanna thank you all for reading and liking the previous chapter. I've been receiving great reviews and you don't know how much I *literally* LOL. And I hope you'll like this chapter too, although I personally feel that it's lacking in so many ways. Gomen~ gomen~ I'm toning everything down; the OOCness, the perverted-ness, the teasing and so on... Ok, anyway, TQ for reading.**

**A/N 2: Secondly, this story is now kicked out of its community, effectively on 10th Dec 2014 and on the same day, I've lost one follower. My heart now proudly wore a crack. But I understand why this story was removed from the community; it is against their rules of having solely sasusaku, while in this story, I do have Sakura's moment with Sai/Naruto/other characters in the future. For the record, anyway, I don't have anything against this, as I believe it is a wise thing to do. Besides, I should thanked the founder and the crews for giving this story an opportunity in the community, since I believe that the story had gained a lot of attention from it. Thank you.**

**A/N 3: Here, I want to express something as an author of a fanfiction based of writing. What do you think of the word 'fanfiction'? Personally, as an author, I think that it means 'a fan that have the guts to write a fiction on the fandom that they love'. And I as a fan of Naruto/Naruto Shippuden, officially stated here that I have the GUTS to write FICTIONS on this FANDOM. Thus, no matter how much OOCness I have on the characters in ANY stories that I've written, it is all a FICTION. No matter how twisted the story lines maybe, it is still not the ORIGINAL WORK. It is a Fiction! And it won't and never will affect the canon.**

**I believe that I have the right to use the characters in any fandom that I like and fucked up his/her characters and fucked him/her in my stories BCOZ, that is the use of DISCLAIMER. We author usually put that up for SOMETHING. And, a reader is supposed to review based on how the story is, how bad it is, how good it is... not how an author should or should not change the characteristic of the particular animanga characters.**

**Lastly, *sigh* I apologize that I rant too much. Jya...**

**p/s: please vote for my poll. You can found it on my profile page, thanks!**


	9. Special Chapter

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narutoverse. Only the plot and background.**

* * *

><p><strong>:::. Special Chapter .:::<strong>

"I'm going now, Sakura-san…" the maid left the room.

"Un…" the pink haired lady nodded slightly. After the maid left the room, she removed her outer clothes. The clothes sprawled on the _tatami _mat.

Sakura then sighed and looked into the mirror. She was exhausted and it shows on her sleepy face. "If I could… I wouldn't come for the wedding ceremony…" she sighed, combing her long pink locks.

Suddenly, the door opened. Sakura immediately turned to the door.

"Sasuke-kun?" her eyes widen at the guy.

Sasuke entered the room and locked the door behind him. He was still in his wedding attire.

"What are you doing here?" asked Sakura as she made her way to the guy.

"I miss you, Sakura…" said Sasuke, as he immediately had Sakura wrapped in his arms. They embraced for awhile, before Sakura pulled away.

"B-but… it's your wedding night!" the pinkette had a frown on her face.

Sasuke grazed her cheeks softly with his thumbs. "Shh… you talk too much" he leaned closer for a kiss. However, Sakura backed away.

"No, listen to me…" she held him by the wrists. "You shouldn't be here!"

Sasuke groaned unhappily, releasing his wrists from her grasp. "Sakura, I don't want to be there either!"

"It's your wedding night…" Sakura muttered and Sasuke came closer to her, yet again.

"It's raining outside… I don't want you to get cold…" he said.

"But it's your responsibility, Sasuke-kun… for your wife" she mumbled the last part.

Sasuke sighed. "I want to be here, you can't deny me… Sakura…" his voice was firm on her name. The pinkette stayed silent.

"But… this will make me look terrible…" she muttered.

"No, you're pretty to me…" At the same time, Sasuke cut their distance and pulled her to him. He forcefully kissed her. And after awhile of breathtaking kiss, they pulled away.

"That's not what I meant, just now…" said Sakura while Sasuke had his way on her; kissing her skin, groping and touching everything within his reach. "I don't—" Sakura knew that he will have her as well, that night.

"No, no… Sasuke-kun…" she gasped, pushing him away slightly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Why?" he snarled.

The pinkette swallowed hard. So much that she too, wanting the intimation, but her conscience kicked in.

"This… this will offend her highness…" she said.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "My mother? She doesn't have to know…" he then continued seeking heat from her neck.

"Th-The princess?" Sakura bit her lip. "How about her?"

Sasuke stopped and stared at her. "Don't talk about her now" he got to the edge of his patience.

"S-sorry but… I feel bad for the princess…" muttered Sakura.

Sasuke sighed deeply. "I said, don't talk about her…" he grabbed Sakura's shoulders. Sakura winced slightly. "I'm the emperor, and you know that my words are rules… and rules, you must obey…"

Sakura stared at his onyx eyes silently. She was drowning in them; of fear, of authority that they held. He was right indeed, he is the emperor. And she must obey him, no matter what.

"Now, where were we?" Sasuke smirked as he continued.

**~~:::::~~**

The night went on. And Sasuke was on his stomach, lie next to Sakura on the bed. While the pinkette stroked his dark locks that were now dampen a little. Their sex making was always great and Sakura loves each moment of it. Except for that night, she had a hard time to enjoy it. She could not ignore the fact that Sasuke was officially someone else's husband.

"Are you asleep?" she asked as she noticed that his breathing was now even.

"Hn. Not yet…"

"Umm… maybe—" Sakura paused; wonder if she should go on.

Sasuke turned to her, eyes half-lidded. He was waiting for her to continue.

"Are you staying here, for the night?" she asked bitterly.

"Hn"

Sakura forced a smile. She felt sad, guilty and happy at the same time. "You're so bad… you know" she muttered, as she cuddled closer to Sasuke. The raven haired emperor simply took her in, fitting her small frame in his arms.

"Quiet… I'm trying to sleep" his voice was husky. And his eyes were shut all those time.

Sakura shut her eyes tight. She tried to waive all her worries away, although the memories of the recently held royal wedding kept replaying in her head. And the man that she was with at the moment, is the groom and his wife, was somewhere at the main palace.

Sakura sighed silently. And they both fell asleep in the tight embrace.

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><p><strong>AN: I know! This is totally not what you're expecting! Haha, I know I'm real bad. And some of you might be disappointed like hell, cuss me and wanna kill me. But this is the 'special chapter', and I assure you that you didn't read the wrong story!**

**I'm completely in my right mind when I'm doing this though! *grin* However, this is a sneak peek to my new story, except that it won't be posted here! I know, I'm being ridiculous! It will be posted on my other site.**

**I did thought about posting it here, but I'm now working on one of my old story, Snowy Night (maybe some of you have read it before) and I'm making changes to CH.1. Please take a look at the revised chapter. Thanks.**

**Annddd... the real chapter for Marry to Money will be posted after New Year! **

**IMPORTANT announcement: This will be my last update for this story for this year. Because I'm going for a holiday across the continent! I'll be back after New Year in full blast! Don't leave me while I'm gone. **


	10. Trip to Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narutoverse. Only the plot/storyline.**

**[Important announcement at the A/N]**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Trip to Love<strong>

**XOXOXOX**

"Sakura-san?"

A voice called out to the pinkette's name. A familiar yet distance voice. "This is-" Sakura turned around quickly. A flash of smile greeted her, and a pair of lazy eyes and messy red hair. Sakura's lips parted slightly while her eyebrows rose. "Sasori?" she mouthed in disbelief. Her heart was racing out of nothing.

The guy walked over to her in a casual manner and stood right in front of her. Sakura had to tilt her head slightly to meet his height. "Sakura…" he spoke her name with ease. His manly voice sent a tingle down Sakura's spine. _"How weird…"_ she thought.

"What are you doing here, Sakura? I never thought that I'll meet you here" stated Sasori, with his eyes widen slightly. Slight tint of pink crept on his cheeks. The pinkette blushed too, while she breathed in his minty scent.

"I was invited. What are you doing here, then?" Sakura pouted. She did not realize that she was pouting and how much it made the guy's heart race. Sasori smirked at the pinkette. "You didn't change at all, Sakura…" he said. His eyes softened, fixating at Sakura's emerald green.

Sakura sighed at his comment. "No, I mean… you're still pretty" Sasori amended quickly at his statement. And that made Sakura blushed redder. "T-Thanks…" she stuttered. _"Why do I feel embarrass?"_ she thought while her eyes secretly studying Sasori. A boy that she once considered a nemesis and loathed so much, is now in front of her, dress in tailored suit and shining designer shoes.

_"__Tall and handsome… Oh, god"_ her inner Sakura died of nosebleed.

"Sasori-kun!" a girly voice broke into Sakura's dream state. A lady ran towards them. _"Sasori-kun?"_ Sakura thought and raised an eyebrow while her gaze shifted from the lady in red to the red haired guy. Sasori frowned somehow.

"I was looking for you—" the lady clung to Sasori's arm. "…and who's this?" she looked at Sakura, eyes wide wondering. "This is Sakura, my childhood friend" said Sasori, introducing the pinkette. "Sakura, this is Chiharu…" he then said.

"Nice to meet you, Chiharu-san…" Sakura bowed. The lady returned the bow. "Nice to meet you, too…" Chiharu smiled. "Ah- Sasori-kun, I need to go back to the room. I left my phone!" she bit her bottom lip, while flashing her puppy eyes. Sasori sighed before he nodded in agreement.

Sakura simply stayed silent, watching the drama in front of her. As Chiharu left the scene, Sasori turned to her again. He shook his head. "She's always like that… too troublesome" he said.

Sakura chuckled at him. "Your girlfriend, I guess?" she asked. "Fiancée…" corrected Sasori. "She's pretty, I must say…" Sakura appended. "Not as pretty as you" Sasori smirked.

Slowly, Sakura's eyes widen at his bold statement while her cheeks felt warmer and her hearts start racing. "S-stop it… you're b-bullying me again" she mumbled the words in difficulty as her voice cracked and her breathe held up in her chest, holding in the burst of feeling she had inside her chest.

"I'm being honest…" Sasori replied. He did not seem to care about the uneasy Sakura. Meanwhile, the pinkette shuffled in discomfort, feeling like dashing away from Sasori's sight. "Uhm… t-thanks again" she had a hard time looking at him, thus the shining parquet became more comforting.

"So, have you checked in?" asked Sasori, tilting his head to catch the pinkette's eyes. And that snapped Sakura to reality. "Ah- that's right, I haven't!" she gasped and turned to the lobby.

Sasori picked Sakura's luggage. "I'll help you then…" he said. "Uhm… thanks, but how about Chiharu-san?" the pinkette asked instead. The red haired guy led the way, "It's fine. I'll tell her later".

**XOXOXOX**

After a while of walking along the second floor hallway, they stopped in front of a cabin's door. "206" muttered Sasori as he looked again at the card-key. "This is it…" said Sakura.

Sasori unlocked the door. They entered the cabin with Sakura's eyes widen in awe and mouth slightly parted. The cabin was huge, with a king-sized bed in pastel blue mattress to the right and a private balcony right across the door.

"This is wonderful…" she said to the red haired guy. Sasori brought the luggage in for her while smiling at her comment. "Suit a pretty lady like you, Sakura…" he said. And Sakura was blushing at him saying such things.

"Sweet talking doesn't suit you, Sasori…" Sakura giggled. "Why?" he suddenly said. Sakura gave him a blank look. "You prefer me pulling your hair and calling you 'forehead'?" he quickly appended. "No! Of course not!" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

Sasori smiled, "Okay, if you need anything, just call for me". He then left his number. Sakura nodded and smiled, "Yeah, thank you again, Sasori". She waved the red haired guy goodbye.

Sakura locked the door and could not help it but feeling excited all over. She never thought that she would meet one of her childhood friends at a place like that. And moreover, it was Sasori, a boy who used to bully her so much. Sakura shook her head at the memories of having herself cried all the way home from being teased by him.

"First… unpacking!" she stated it out loud. As she unpacked her stuffs, especially her dresses and clothes, she suddenly remembered something important. Quickly, she grabbed her handbag.

"Ino-pig!" she whispered in annoyance as she took out a small _box_. She vaguely remembered it when Ino shoved the thing inside of her handbag, claiming that she was not around to protect Sakura. The pinkette put the box inside of a zipped compartment in her luggage.

**/Flashback…**

_"__What? Ino! I don't need this!" Sakura squealed, trying to pull her handbag away from Ino. "This isn't for you. It's for those guys!" Ino was still persistent, she tugged Sakura's handbag and threw a box of condom inside. The pinkette sighed in defeat. "I won't do the 'thing', okay?!" she replied, rolling her eyes. Ino shook her head, "Better safe than sorry, Sakura. Because… I won't be there to protect you…" she said with a concerned face, holding Sakura's hands._

**/End of flashback…**

"Silly Ino…" she chuckled. However, the thought of that made her shuddered. She would have to be careful anyway. _"Ino might be right. People here might be a wolf in human's skin"_ she thought.

**.**

**XOXOXOX**

**.**

"I'm aware that this ship is co-owned by Uchiha and Uzumaki… but why are you sharing a room with me?" asked Sasuke, rubbing his temple in annoyance, while glaring at the blondie.

Naruto was at the washroom door, removing his shirt, exposing his toned muscles. "Then you should be aware that we've invited a lot of VIPs. The VIP rooms are all full, so we have to share a room…" Naruto replied.

Sasuke crossed his arms in annoyance while eyeing the blonde that was pacing around, getting ready. "Unless, you wanna share with your _aniki_?" asked Naruto, jokingly, glancing at the Uchiha.

"No way in hell!" Sasuke quickly responded. He shot Naruto a burning glare. He would never share anything with Itachi because of their never ending sibling rivalry. "Or I supposed I could share with Sakura-chan…" muttered Naruto, looking into space, unaware that Sasuke was glaring at him. _"Don't you dare dobe!"_ he grudgingly wanted to yell that out loud.

"Talking about her, I supposed she's in her room by now…" Naruto tapped his fingers on his chin as if he was thinking of something. "How am I supposed to know which room is she in?" he then peeked at the Uchiha. "What?" replied Sasuke, frowning –_angrily_.

"Come on, _teme_… the ceremony is less than an hour. I wanna pick Sakura-chan up from her room. Can you please help me this once?" Naruto shot his puppy eyes look to Sasuke and pouted slightly.

The raven haired guy simply snorted, while taking out his phone. "I'm gonna ask her directly" he said. Suddenly, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist. "Wait! I can ask her directly too!" he stated excitedly, with his eyes widened. Sasuke pulled his hand away, "Then do it! Idiot…" he said.

Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry… I forgot that I already have her number…". Naruto dialed Sakura's phone and waited for her to pick up. Least that he knew, Sasuke was glaring venomously at him.

"_Why should I feel annoyed?"_ the Uchiha reluctantly shifted his gaze somewhere else, since he had the urge to snatch the phone from Naruto and smacked it to the wall. "Hn…" he snorted unconsciously at his own thought and imagination of the phone broke into half on the floor.

Seconds later, Sakura answered, much to Sasuke's dismay. "Sa-Sakura-chan… It's me, Naruto…" said Naruto nervously while he looked at the indifferent Uchiha. "I'll pick you up for the launching ceremony, okay. So what is your room number?" he swallowed hard. "Hm… okay, 206. Get ready, the launching ceremony is less than an hour" he said before ending the phone call.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his blond friend. "You're pale…" he stated. "W-What?" asked Naruto. "I was just nervous…" he then chuckled. Sasuke simply shook his head while suppressing the hate that suddenly built up in his chest. _"Damn you, idiot"_ he thought while eyeing the thrilled Naruto.

**.**

**XOXOXOX**

**.**

Sakura checked herself in the mirror for the nth times. She looked for any flaw that could ruin her so-called once in a lifetime experience. From the moment Naruto called her, she had been getting ready. _"Dress, check! Hair, check! Make-up, check! Teeth—"_ she flashed her ivory set of teeth and then smiled at herself. "Perfecto!" she stated and exhaled loudly.

Sakura wore a deep pink flowery dress, slightly above her knee. She paired it with a pastel beige pumps and a matching handbag. The dress fit her nicely, showing her curvy slim figure. Her hair was tied into a high bun, with her bangs tugged behind her ear.

Then knocks was heard at the door. The sound made Sakura's heart jumped a little and shivers ran through her spine. She glanced one last time at the mirror before she hurried to the door. "Just a second!" she shouted.

Sakura unlocked the door and was greeted by the whoosh of Naruto's oaks and spices scent and also his bright smile. "Hi…" said Naruto, obviously concealing nervousness in his voice. And as quick as his heartbeat, his pupils dilated and eyes glanced up and down at Sakura.

The heated stare that Naruto shot at her made Sakura's cheeks grew warmer and pouted nervously. "Something's wrong?" she whispered. Naruto blinked at her. "Ah- sorry… nothing's wrong" he said and obvious blush appeared on his cheeks. "You're beautiful, Sakura-chan…"

Compliments were all she heard the whole day; it made her felt special in many ways. She was glad that she wore a proper dress, somehow. _"__Thanks for that, Ino…"_ she inwardly smiled, remembering the day when Ino took her out to shop for the very day. _"You have to dress to kill, girl!"_ Ino's excited voice echoed in her head.

"Thank you, Naruto… I'm flattered" Sakura smiled. And if it could be seen, a rainbow was bursting out of her. "And you too…" she almost chuckle. "I mean- not beautiful… but, handsome-" she quickly appended.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan!" stated the guy. His grin grew wider and his eyes squinted as he smiled. Indeed, Naruto looks smart and casual with black blazer over his white shirt, black pants and a pair of matching shoes.

Sakura could not help it but to have a quick glance at Naruto. _"Everyone is a hottie here…"_ she secretly thought. A flash of her red haired friend ran through her mind and unexpectedly, her boss too. And the thought of Sasuke made her shuddered.

"Come, let's go…" said Naruto. Sakura silently nodded as she followed the blond. They walked side by side. "The launching ceremony is only a few minutes away" said Naruto, trying to make a conversation. He caught that Sakura was kinda edgy. "You're not involved with the launching?" asked Sakura, glancing at the guy next to her.

"Nope, I've promised to escort you today" replied Naruto. Sakura nodded slightly. "Then, how about Sasuke?" she asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean- Sasuke-sama…" Sakura quickly appended.

Naruto peeked at her. The fact that she asked about Sasuke had taken him aback rather than her calling Sasuke without the 'sama'. Screw the 'sama', the fact that she actually asked and thought about someone else made him stunned.

"He's handling the launching ceremony" Naruto simply responded, after he considered the fact that Sasuke is Sakura's boss as the reason for the pinkette to actually think about him. Sakura nodded slightly. Anxiety was still obvious on her face.

"Sakura-chan… are you okay?" Naruto stepped forward and stopped in front of Sakura. The pinkette tilted her head slightly, looking at the blond. Her eyes were wide and her heart beats in her mouth.

_"__No, no! Don't say it now!" _she desperately prayed in her heart.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: First of all, hello everyone. It's been a very very long time since I last updated. So, I've make a comeback. Hope you like it.**

**I'm so sorry for the short chapter. I admit that this is the shortest chapter I have for this story. But I kinda think it should be this way. BTW, I'm typing this during the holiday, so, forgive me for the bland storyline. Haha- even now I'm still having this holiday mood.**

**2nd:** **I've planned out this story until the last chapter.** I even had a long conversation of 'ifs' and 'what ifs' with **_d3m0n1t3_** on this. Yeah, I'm taking this story so seriously; I am a serious person (so, don't mess with me). Okay- the thing is, I'm having an inner conflict of ending this story **clean** or **not clean**.

**Clean**: That's mean no more **BIG** conflict, only a few chapters needed to complete the story and voila~ sasusaku are having their happily ever after, fairytale ending. (cliche, I must say, not to mention, **BORING**! You know how much I **HATE** cliche and I'm **NOT** a boring person. Thus, this is **NOT MY PREFERABLE** storyline. However, **d3m0n1t3** prefer this one. **He has points though: Cut it clean, everyone will be happy. The reader is happy, we're happy. Tadaa~ THE END**)

**Not Clean**: **More conflict, I'm literally wanna smash those lovey-dovey bubble you all have on top of your head.** Because I'm having this **DRAMATIC** idea on how the conflict should be, how they tackles it, how their love survive it, and how they end up going to the faraway land of happy ending on a white horse. However, more conflict, more drama, and more trouble for you **READERS**. And of course more criticisms and more flames I'm gonna get.

**If I choose this one, STILL only a few chapters left. BUT there will be a SEQUEL for the story! Ah ha! I LOVE SURPRISES! (I promise, you're gonna HATE me and LOVE me at the same time if I do this!)**

**End: Thanks for reading! I'm thrilled that this story reached this far and this much of attention. *Bows* Arigatou-gozaimashita!**


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